The Vampire King
by dumbledearme
Summary: Being a hybrid was never easy; living surrounded by vamps and wolves made things even worse. Nessie gave up trying to fit in with the humans and decided to take a chance in the supernatural world of New Orleans. When she meets a tall dark stranger, her whole life takes a hit and Nessie starts questioning her feelings, as well as who she is, and who she wants to spend eternity with.
1. Girl in New Orleans

New Orleans hadn't been my first choice, but it was as far as my parents allowed me to go. I wanted New York, but they thought it to be too dangerous, too noisy, too populated. So we made an agreement and both sides had to compromise.

I didn't get out much. And it was not because I wasn't pretty or anything. I was. With my dad being a vampire and all, I guessed I won the lottery of good genes. My brown hair fell in curls to my waist and I had large chocolate eyes like my mother's. My legs were strong and my bosom was substantial. The only problem was, I wasn't very comfortable with the whole human contact thing.

Here's why. When I touched people I got glimpses of their lives or what they were thinking or what they were feeling. It wasn't nearly as cool as it sounded. As if feeling your own pain was not enough, I was forced to feel others as well. So I learned to avoid that. I always wore pants, long sleeves and gloves. I got jumpy whenever there was a crowd.

And with a family of vampires watching over me, it wasn't easy to date or even go out for mildly irresponsible nights. My dad could read my mind, my uncle could sense my emotions and my aunt had visions of whatever I was going to do next. Of course, long ago, a deal was made about this and they promised to grant me as much privacy as they possibly could. Which I was incredibly grateful for.

"Welcome to New Orleans," the bartender welcomed me. He was an ordinary looking human, nothing special. I would've never looked at him twice hadn't he spoken to me. "Jazz and jambalaya, romance, poetry-"

"Not to mention the things that go bump in the night," said a deeper voice to my left. I turned. Immediately I could tell what he was – not just because he hadn't been there a minute ago – and as usual it amazed me that no one else turned around to stare. His skin had that known little glow.

Even sitting down he was tall, and had a thin but muscular body. His hair was short and brown and his eyes were hazel brown. His facial features were angular – high cheekbones, a strong jawline, and a straight nose. Despite being (probably) centuries old, he appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He was well dressed – in a dress jacket, dress shoes, dress pants, white shirt and black tie.

And he was pale, of course, he was dead.

"What do you mean?" I asked though I had a pretty good idea.

He turned toward me with arched eyebrows. "Monsters that feed off human blood," he said and his voice was cool and clear. I found myself completely mesmerized by his lips – so lovely, sharply sculpted lips. "Vengeful spirits of the dead. And let's not forget the witches."

I felt my lips curling. "If it's so full of monsters, what are you doing in New Orleans?" I asked feigning a great deal of ignorance.

"I used to live here."

"When?"

"Oh, it feels like a hundred years ago." He spoke lightly as if everything was a big joke, but I was sure he was serious. I glanced sideways to the bartender, but the man was busy attending other of his clients.

"What brought you back?" I asked unable to mask my curiosity.

He sipped his drink. "My brother's here somewhere. I'm afraid he might have got himself into a bit of a bind."

"You say that like it's a common occurrence."

He smiled and it took my breath away. "My brother is... complicated. Defiant, ill-mannered, and a little temperamental. See, we don't share the same father. Of course that never bothered me, but my brother resents it deeply. Never felt like he belongs. All told, he has a long history of getting himself into trouble."

"And you have a long history of getting him out of it," I guessed. The vampire stared at me so seductively it made me question why I still had clothes on. I decided I'd better do something with my mouth, like talking. "What – what kind of trouble is your brother in?"

"He thinks there are people in this town conspiring against him."

That broke the spell for a few seconds and I was able to look away from him. "Whoa," I joked. "Narcissistic and paranoid."

There was a moment of silence in which I turned back to look at him. He was closer than I'd thought. "What are _you_ doing in New Orleans?" his voice was firm, demanding. I felt obligated to answer him truthfully and immediately. Then I slapped myself mentally. I knew what he was doing, using his vampire powers on me, trying to make me feel bound to him, attached, commanded.

I cleared my throat. If a straight answer was what he wanted, I would give him everything but.

"It's complicated."

"How?" He pressed my mind further and I felt my will slipping away from me. It was so unfair. I always hated how everyone at home had some kind of power over me, over my mind. I am a human being for crying out loud, not a play toy.

My anger freed me from his grasp. I was breathing heavily now. "I kind of have to go to the bathroom," I said woozily. He arched an eyebrow. I could see the surprise in his face. He was not used to being disobeyed, overpowered. That brought me a strange amount of satisfaction.

But his astonishment didn't last very long. He stared at me with penetrating eyes, and though he had just tried to mind wash me, there was kindness in him. His face was such a distraction. "Can I come?" he asked softly.

My brain buzzed, my heart raced. Hooking up with strangers wasn't really my thing, especially if said stranger happened to be... well, dead. But the attraction I felt toward him was very much real and I was sure had nothing to do with what he had tried to do in my mind. He wasn't trying to control me anymore, he was waiting for a honest answer of my part.

I couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at me expectantly, as if whatever I was about to say to him was somehow vitally important. With a shy smile, I stood up and took his hand.

There was toilet paper all over the bathroom floor and it smelled even worse than the rest of the bar, but I didn't care. He hoisted me onto the sink and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He grabbed my face and kissed me, a little too hastily as if he couldn't help himself anymore. Our mouths fit perfectly together. His hands floated all over the small of my back, my stomach, my legs.

I shivered, the images taking over me. I saw a whole bunch of things I didn't understand. Two men hunting. Brothers teasing each other. A beautiful woman with an oval face, almond-shaped brown eyes, and smooth, long dark brown hair which was worn in many braids. Her name was – _ _Tatia__. It echoed in my mind like a plea.

The feelings came along with the memories. Lost, longing, regret. But everything was erased by a ravishing psychotic brake he made through those things. Suddenly his mind was filled with images of me, my hair, my eyes, my breasts. I felt his desire and it ignited mine.

Everything was perfect for about five minutes then the bathroom door burst open and my mother and father marched in with crazy eyes and a grimace. I pushed the vampire away and pulled my skirt down. The weirdest of sounds came out of my throat.

"Not what it looks like," I managed to say.

"Really?" said my mom. "How's that?"

I considered that. "Okay. This is exactly what it looks like," I admitted.

Dad didn't take his eyes from the vampire, who stood beside me as still as a statue. "We're leaving now, Nessie," said he.

I clenched my fist. They had promised they wouldn't do something like this. They had given me their word and yet – I held my tongue. I was extremely anger but I knew whatever I had to say would've to wait. They were already making me look like a child in front of my dark tall stranger, I wouldn't make things even more embarrassing.

I glanced at him for a last time and smiled. I didn't know if he was picking up on my body language but I tried to make it perfectly clear we were not done. He didn't move nor showed any emotion whatsoever.

My mom took my hand and I let her lead the way, dad following us. I sighed. New Orleans was not making things any easier on me.


	2. A Closer Walk With Thee

One month went by. One month and nothing of my tall dark stranger. I kept going to that smelly old bar in hope to see him again, but he didn't show.

After that night in the public bathroom, I had a terrible fight with my parents. I yelled and whined about how betrayed I felt. They had given me their words they would keep themselves out of my business and yet mom and dad rushed out of the house as soon as Alice had her vision of me hooking up with the vampire.

I knew they meant well, but that didn't stop my anger. I was not completely stupid – _nor deaf_ – I knew they spent most part of their days having hot vampire sex, every single one of them. Why was I not allowed to do the same? I was just as immortal, just as mature, though not as old and not as strong, and much more human.

After that, I marched up the stairs making as much noise as humanly possible. I locked myself in my room and leaned against the door. For the first time in a long time, I focused on my hearing. Sometimes I could do this sort of thing, focus on the vampire part of my blood and increase my hearing, my sight, my speed, my sense of smell... It wasn't easy and it usually made me very tired, but sometimes it was worth the trouble.

"You can't keep trying to control every step Nessie takes," Carlisle was saying. Thank god for grandpa, he was always stating the obvious even though the rest of the morons kept ignoring him. "Nessie is all grown up now, Edward."

"She's too young," insisted my father. "And the vampire –" he paused. "You didn't see him, Carlisle. He was ancient. I couldn't pinpoint his age."

"Did you read his mind?"

"Only barely. He wasn't thinking anything worth hearing. He was surprised, a little curious. But he was mostly lusting over her."

I felt my cheeks reddening. I covered my mouth stopping the giggles. I wondered if my father had read my mind that moment too. Hopefully not.

"Was he dangerous?" asked grandpa.

"He looked very strong," said mom.

"But he was not thinking about killing her?"

There was a pause. Of course he wasn't thinking of killing me. I was touching him. I was seeing the lust, the desire, the sex. There was no murderous thoughts in that vampire. And why should it be?

"But you did see him bite her, didn't you, Alice?"

So that's why they'd rushed after me. Now it all made sense. But what Alice saw wasn't the truth, right? It was an echo, it was a possibility. He wasn't going to hurt me, I was sure of that. We had a connection.

Shaking my head I stopped listening. The next morning, a new deal was made. They promised they would give me as much space as I required if I promised to stay away from the vampire. I agreed to that, and I meant it back then. But after a week, my desire was stronger than me and I went back to the bar looking for him. Only I found nothing.

Every night since, I went back and waited but he didn't show. And tonight was no exception.

With a sigh, I paid the bartender and left. The night was dark and cold but I liked it that way. I headed toward the street corner when a group of four men came my way. They were joking loudly among themselves, laughing and punching each other's arms. I scooted as far to the inside of the sidewalk as I could to give them room, walking swiftly, looking past them to the corner.

"Hey, there!" one of them called as they passed. I glanced up automatically. Two of them had paused, the other two were slowing. The closest, a dark-haired man in his early twenties, seemed to be the one who had spoken. He took half a step toward me.

I rolled my eyes and walked faster toward the corner.

"Hey, wait!" one of them called after me again, but I kept my head down and rounded the corner. As I looked over my shoulder, I realized that they were following me very closely.

"Stay away from me," I warned quickening my pace.

"Don't be like that, sugar," one called.

With a sense of shock, I felt hands on my body, groping for bare skin. Never in my life had I been in a situation like this, far away from any help. I knew I could defend myself, but I also realized what that entitled and the consequences that would follow.

"Take your hands off me."

"I just want to warm you up all over-"

"Let go!" I wrench myself away from him and he stumbled back stunned by my strength. But then, before I could blink, his full weight was on me, crushing me to the wall. Anger took over me and I did something I hadn't done in years: I twisted my head and my mouth found his neck. I bit hard, tasting the deliciousness of the blood, hearing his agonized yowl. He tried to jerk away from me but I was suddenly enjoying the situation too much. I closed my eyes and sucked harder.

Then someone pulled me back and threw me on the ground. I'd forgotten there were more of them.

"She bit him!" I watched them trying to stop their friend's bleeding. Then two turned toward me, rage in their eyes. They came my way and something snatched them. For me it was a blur. It took only a few seconds, but when I finally focused I saw everyone was dead lying on the asphalt. And my tall dark stranger was there, blood spilling from his mouth. A feeling I didn't recognize took over me. I was – _I was_ _ _horny__.

"A gentleman doesn't force his company on anyone," said the vampire. His voice was soft and cold and light and somehow it made me even dizzier. I couldn't take my eyes off him as he moved toward me and reached out a hand. He helped me up. "Is there anyone to take you home?"

I shook my head. If my family hadn't arrived yet, was because they were keeping their words. They weren't looking, they weren't paying attention to me.

"I'll take you," said he. Even through the lust, I felt a quick thrill of fear. I looked at him, a strangely elegant figure among dead bodies, his face pale in the moonlight. He had never looked so beautiful to me before, but that beauty was almost alien. I had never seen anyone killing before, nor anyone dying. Yet I wasn't concerned, I wasn't traumatized. I was just mesmerized by his inhuman aura of power.

"No," I pleaded. "Take me somewhere else. Anywhere."

He seemed pleased at that. Pale and silent, he walked beside me without letting go of my hand. I felt oddly sure he would kill anything that tried to get at me. And that enthralled me. Suddenly my fear vanished and I felt utterly safe and, for the moment, totally unconcerned about where we were going.

We crossed a bridge that was white in the moonlight, and under it the icy waters swirled over ancient rocks. The whole world was still and beautiful and cold as we walked through the oak trees to the narrow country road.

Then something occurred to me. "Were you following me?"

He hadn't expected that. He looked at me and smiled wryly. "Yes," he admitted. "I've been watching you since –" he paused. "You are a magnet for trouble. I don't know what it is about you. Dangerous things... invariably find you."

"Do you put yourself into that category?"

His face turned cold. "Unequivocally."

"You were very – fast," I told him. "I didn't even see you."

"You know what I am," he almost shrugged. "I didn't think you did when we met. But other vampires came for you. My strength shouldn't surprise you."

"No, but I makes me feel fragile," I said.

"But you are not quite human yourself," he pointed out. "You bit one of them. I saw you. You liked it."

I blushed. "I – I don't usually do that. I don't feel the need to drink blood. I am perfectly satisfied with human food. But once I tasted..."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me. Just tell me, what are you?"

"I'm just a girl," I said though both of us knew that wasn't true. "Anyway, I guess I was surprise because... my family, the other vampires, I mean, they are so careful, so controlled. I never saw any of them... I guess I didn't realize the full extent of your strength."

"We are predators. Over the years, we only get better and better at killing."

"So you've killed a bunch of people?"

"Some."

We passed fenced pastures and dark fields until we reached a long winding drive. The boarding house was a vast building of rust-red brick made from the native clay, and it was flanked with age-old cedars and maples. All but one of the windows were dark.

We stepped into a small hallway, with a flight of stairs directly in front of us. The banister, like the doors, was natural light oak so polished that it seemed to glow. We went up the stairs to a second-story landing that was poorly lit. To my surprise, he led me into one of the bedrooms. I couldn't take my eyes off the king-sized bed.

I realized he was watching me. "You're not going to tell me what you are?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I'm Nessie."

He was amused. "Will I have to use my glamour on you?"

"You wouldn't dare!" I snapped. "Besides, I can fight it."

The vampire snorted, even managing to sound elegant doing that. "You are something else," he muttered as if still trying to figure me out.

I said nothing. His face was closed and he seemed to be looking far away at something that only he could see. He touched my face and I felt what he was feeling. Curiously, his feelings matched mine perfectly. "What should I call you?" I asked.

He bent his head down to my lips. And it was as simple as that. All questions answered, all fears put to rest, all doubts removed, if there were ever any. What I felt was not merely passion, but a bruising tenderness and a love so strong it made me shake inside. It would have been frightening in its intensity, except that while I was with him, I could not be afraid of anything.

This was where I belonged, I had found it at last. I was home.

Pleasure and desire raced between us, connecting us, drawing us closer. He wanted to hold me forever, to protect me from all harm. He wanted to defend me from any evil that threatened me. He wanted to join his life with mine. His love bathed me, shone through me. I trembled with pleasure, with love, with longing.

He drew back slowly, as if he could not bear to part from me. "Elijah," he told me finally.


	3. Never Let Me Go

The sun, hot on the bare skin of my back, woke me in the morning. Late morning, maybe afternoon, I wasn't sure. Everything besides the time was clear, though; I knew exactly where I was. I felt, at once, as if last night had been my birthday – wasn't I showered with gifts of pleasure?

Lying across his wintry chest, his arms wound around me, felt very easy and natural. I didn't open my eyes. I was too happy to change anything, no matter how small. His fingers softly trailed down the contours of my spine, and I knew that he knew I was awake. I kept my eyes shut and tightened my arms around his neck, holding myself closer to him.

His fingers moved up and down my back, barely touching it as he lightly traced patterns on my skin. I would've stayed there forever, but my stomach growled. "You just can't escape being human for very long." The sound of his voice, serious and husky, brought with it a deluge of memories from the night, and I felt a blush color my face and neck.

I opened my eyes; the first thing I saw was the pale, almost silvery skin of his throat, the arc of his chin above my face. His jaw was taut. I propped myself up on my elbow so I could see his face. Gosh, he was so beautiful.

My thoughts jumbled together as I sat up. Oh, I hurt all over. My joints were stiff and my muscles heavy. Not to mention the soreness between my legs. But Elijah and I made everything right. Sure I was a little uncomfortable, but boy, did I feel powerful.

He watched me silently and I could pick some things from his touch. He was thinking about my eyes. He was struck silent with amazement. And with _love_. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. I trembled. Again, our feelings matched perfectly.

Elijah leaned back and I rested my head against his chest. It was cold and silent. I was used to that. It was the beating hearts that surprised me nowadays.

We spent the entire day lying there exchanging war stories. We reached levels where we were completely and utterly truthful with each other. We discovered things. He wanted to know what I was, what made me especial and I told him. How my mother had conceived and carried me while she was still human. How it almost killed her.

"Half mortal, half immortal," he muttered. He wasn't surprise at what I was, he knew it was something like that. But he admitted never knowing it could happen. Vampires having babies, that was. He'd never heard of anything like that, which worried him. "It can't be as rare as we think." I got what he was saying. Vampires were always sleeping with humans. Some would feed on them and leave them to die. Some would turn them into vampires. But some would let them go.

I told him about my entire life, how ordinary it was even with all the supernatural things that surrounded me, even with my immortality. I told him how young I really was, and how after my birth I had grown at an exceptional pace, mentally and physically, which was why my parents still saw me a their baby and tried their best to protect me.

"Anyone who knows you," he said, "would want to protect you."

In exchange, Elijah told me many things about himself. How after the loss of his first child, Elijah's father had become very strict and all his children feared him. "He was hard on all of us, but he was the hardest on Niklaus, whom he saw as weak."

"That's the narcissistic one you told me about?" I asked because apparently Elijah had a whole bunch of siblings.

He nodded. Elijah told me they lived among werewolves for about twenty years and how, during the full moon, the humans would simply hide in the underground caves while the werewolves turned. I made note of that to tell Jacob. He didn't know much about his own lineage.

One night after the full moon, Niklaus came out of the woods, holding their dead little brother, Henrik, in his arms. To ensure that she wouldn't lose the rest of her family, Elijah's mom, who was one of the most powerful witches in history, used a spell to make her children immortal.

"However, nature retaliated against us," said Elijah, his voice barely louder than a whisper, "and, for every strength, there was a weakness, none stronger than the desire for what had made us immortal-"

"Human blood?" He agreed. I tried to wrap my mind around what he was telling me. "So –

So what you are saying is that – that you and your family -"

"We were the very first vampires, yes."

I took a deep breath. I knew my mouth was hanging open, but I didn't have the control to close it. _What the hell_ , was all I was thinking. In a loop. Carlisle surely didn't know about this, no one did. The very first vampires. And I had found one. Not only found, I was irrevocably in love with him.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Is this – too much?"

"No!" I sat forward. "Yes... I don't know." I glanced at his lovely features and my heart raced. I knew he could hear that – _hell, I could hear it_ –, but I didn't care. There was nothing wrong with how I felt. Nor with who we were. Whether the miracle hybrid or the original vampire. "No." I said again, more firmly.

I thought a hot bath and some coffee would calm me down. My stomach growled louder this time and Elijah offered to cook for me. I didn't know he could do it, or if I trusted his abilities, but I agreed. After getting dressed, I went down.

It was such a strange old house, this one. I located the second stairway. I was wrapped in silence, and as I reached the dimly lit door at the top, I had the feeling I had entered some other world. It was a good feeling.

Elijah's food was a pleasant surprise. I ate until I couldn't anymore. Then Elijah handed my cellphone. "It rang a lot," said he. "I think you should pick up."

I pressed the button to hear one of the hundred messages. "Where are you?" my mother's voice rang in my ears. "We are looking for you everywhere! Alice saw you with him, Nessie, but we can't find you! Please, pick up the phone! I need to know if you're okay!"

I sighed. I had completely forgotten I had a family that worried about me.

"I need to go home," I said against my will.

Suddenly he was holding me. His arms tightened about me convulsively. He kissed me, his fingers tangled in my hair, and the universe shrank around me. Nothing existed but Elijah, and the feel of his arms around me, and the fire of his lips on mine.

A few minutes, or a few centuries later, we separated, both shaking. Our gaze remained connected and I saw his eyes were too dilated for even his dim kitchen's light. He looked dazed, and his mouth was swollen.

"I suppose you do," he agreed.

I nodded, dazzled myself. "But you can just hold me a little longer." He did as I required. It was so weird how I could go from extremely passionate to safe and peaceful. "I love you," I told him, partly because I couldn't help it, partly because it was true. I had watched my family for a long time. I had heard stories of how long my father was alone before he met my mother and how fast he was sure he couldn't live without her. I had learned we couldn't feel ashamed of our feelings, or afraid. There was only one chance and we had to grasp it without hesitating.

I felt a quiver go through him. He didn't move his lips, but his mind answered me. While I was speaking about myself I had told him about my _abilities_. He knew I knew. I could feel him loving me to a most desperate level.

I searched his face, the familiar clear lines and white matte complexion, the dark arches of his brows and proud line of his nose. Elijah's fangs were only slightly extended. I tilted my head up and he pressed his cold lips on mine. A wave of dark delight carried me out to that little sphere of happiness where nothing bad ever happened, where fear or hurt didn't belong. There was only me and him and our love.


	4. The House Guest

We went straight to the dining room.

The room was, of course, only used by me. It was furnished with a long oval mahogany table surrounded by chairs – the Cullens were scrupulous about having all the correct props in place. Carlisle liked to use it as a conference room. In a group with such strong and disparate personalities, sometimes it was necessary to discuss things in a calm, seated manner.

I had a feeling that the setting was not going to help much today.

Carlisle sat in his usual seat at the eastern head of the room. Esme was beside him - they held hands on top of the table. Esme's eyes were on me, their golden depths full of concern.

But they were the only ones. The rest of my family watched Elijah.

Rosalie sat directly across from Carlisle, on the other end of the long table. She glared at me, never looking away. Emmett sat beside her, his face wry. Jasper stood against the wall behind Rosalie. Alice sat next to Esme. She rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache.

Both my parents sat together near Carlisle. My father's lips were pressed tightly together and his forehead was creased. The expression looked too old for his young face. My mother seemed more calmed, contained. She eyed me with such understanding for a second I thought she was the one who could read minds.

I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," I said, to none of them in particular. "I should've called. But I was," – I blushed –, "distracted."

The weirdest expression went through my father's face. "I saw it," he growled.

"Alice saw it, you mean," I corrected. "Even though I asked her not to." I gave her an angry glance.

"It's not like I had a choice, Nessie," she apologized. "You were gone. We couldn't find you."

"Well, I'm here now. This is Elijah. He's my... Well, I guess you can figure that out since you're all so carefully watching me."

Alice stared up at me wearily. "I think your friend should leave." Her voice was so full of concern I wondered what she was seeing.

"No," I said. "Elijah's with me. And... And I think you're gonna want to hear what he has to say."

Elijah was busy inspecting every corner of the room, but I knew he was paying attention.

"Nessie-" Carlisle began. "What is he?"

Elijah and I exchanged a look. We had agreed to this. "He's an Original," I said trying to downplay the pride in my voice. Their shock was priceless; I wondered if I had looked like that when Elijah told me. I controlled my expression very carefully. It wouldn't do at all to grin. Or to applaud, as I wished I could.

Rosalie scowled. "What the hell does that mean?"

My answer was ready. "It means his mother was the creator of your kind."

"Is that true?" asked Emmett.

To my surprise, was my father who nodded. "You're the mind reader, are you not?" asked Elijah. There was a moment of silence in which I was sure Elijah was showing my father things. And by the look on my dad's face, I was also sure I wouldn't want to see those things.

The rest of the conversation focused most on politics. Elijah told them what he knew – which was _a lot_ – and Carlisle made a whole bunch of questions. He had thought the Volturi were the highest law vampires answered to. Elijah enlightened him – the highest law was the Vampire King.

Then I must have dozed off because next thing I knew they were in the middle of a discussion about my well being. Dad didn't care who or what Elijah was. He wanted him to swear to stay away. He pointed out many reasons why Elijah wasn't good for me. Or healthy. The worst part was Elijah agreed with him.

"But I won't allow anything to happen to Nessie," he finished.

My dad's eyebrows shot up. He wasn't expecting this - he hadn't imagined Elijah would proclaim his devotion to a room full of vampires.

He shook his head once."It is not your place to protect Nessie. It's mine. I-"

"Dad," I said firmly. "It's nobody's place to protect me. I am not made of glass."

"Your mother-"

"I am not my mother! I'm not the fragile human she was when you decided it was your place to protect her."

The atmosphere in the room changed. Everyone seemed thorn between rage and peacefulness and I understood it was Jasper's doing. He was trying to calm everyone down.

I didn't appreciate. I was done with people trying to manipulate, influence me.

If this was headed to a fight I would be ready. I was going to fight my own family over a vampire I barely knew. I wondered if none of them would be at my side. Rosalie so often defended me. Her fondness toward me made her almost blind. Carlisle would certainly not fight anyone, not about anything. Esme and mom... both of them would want me to be happy.

But any of them who opposed my love for Elijah... Yes, I would fight for him. Against my family. I shuddered, but no one seemed to notice.

"I won't let Nessie be in danger, even a slight danger," said Elijah suddenly and his eyes didn't leave my fathers. "You might get into my head and see the things I saw, but you haven't lived through what I've lived through. I don't expect you to understand, though I have the strange impression you do."

They stared at each other - not glaring, but measuring the opposition. Testing each other's determination. I assumed it was a male vampire thing.

"Edward," Alice said, interrupting them.

Dad held Elijah's gaze for a moment more, and then looked at her. He must've seen something in her mind because his mouth fell open with an audible gasp. He stared at her, shocked, only vaguely aware that everyone was eyeing him warily.

I felt myself stiffen up. "What did you see?" I demanded.

Alice didn't look at me, she kept holding my father's gaze. "There's a change coming, Nessie. I don't know what any of it means." She locked her jaw, and I could see that there was more.

"What, Alice? What are you hiding?"

I heard Emmett grumble. He always got frustrated when Alice and my dad had these type of conversation. He wasn't the only one. "Will somebody please let the rest of us in on the mystery?" Emmett complained.

Alice shook her head and sighed. "No one here is blind. We can all see where this is headed, where you both already are. It's more inevitable than the sun rising in the east."

Just like that it was decided. No one seemed in the mood to argue longer.

Elijah and I went outside holding hands. I felt a thrill of excitement just looking at him. My family had agreed, at least for now. We were free to be together. We sat on the porch, but he seemed distracted.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing," said he. "I like your family. The way they live... Very honorable."

"Can I meet _your_ family?" I asked before I could stop myself. I felt the chasm opening between us. I saw the cold, correct look gather in his eyes.

"No," he said. He sat staring abstractedly at the horizon. I held my tongue. Then his eyes were back on me and he smiled his heartbreaking smile. He caressed my face and I saw what his intentions were.

"No," I grabbed him desperately. "I won't let you leave."

"I have to go, Nessie," he said. "But I'll be back."

"Will you?" I asked anxiously. "Will you really be here?"

"As long as you want me," he promised.

"I'll always want you," I warned him and I meant it with all my heart. "Forever."

His expression was unfathomable. He stared into my eyes for an immeasurable period of time.

"You'll learn," he said finally, "that forever is an awfully long time."

Then I was alone in my garden under the night sky. I lied on the ground looking up. There was not a single star shining upon me. The feeling that coursed through me then was unnerving, staggering. Would he really be back for me? I wanted this to be a certainty.

Elijah was mythical, after all.

More tired than I realized, exhausted from the long day of mental and emotion stress, I drifted to sleep with his name on my lips.


	5. Death And The Maiden

Elijah and I settled into an uneasy routine.

I would spend my days with Leah – she was five months pregnant with Jacob's baby (something I was extremely excited about since she had given me the news) –, who liked to boss me around asking me to do all sorts of things for her.

After sunset, Elijah would come to my house and we would watch TV, or go to the movies, or play Scrabble. Now that he was sure humans could get pregnant with vampire babies, Elijah was being careful around me, as if afraid I would jump him any chance I got.

And I would have. Except I like doing ordinary stuff with him as much as I enjoyed being ravished by him. So I played along with the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing and not a single complaint escaped my lips. I was sure eventually he would succumb to my charms. Every time he touched me, I felt his lust.

That's what made the routine uneasy. It made me feel like we were waiting for something.

And one day, I woke up tired of waiting. I missed how it felt to have him inside of me. I missed everything about sex, to be honest. I was young, I was immortal and I was horny.

When twilight came – the violet deep darkness of twilight – I went to him before he could come to me.

The house was just as I remembered. It had a certain graciousness I couldn't get enough of. I walked I as if I owned the place but everything was dark inside. I searched the place but I found nothing. Upset and still horny, I sat on the couch, closed my eyes and tried to remember the touch of Elijah's cold hands, the softness of his lips, the-

I sat upright, eyes opened. Someone was watching me. I didn't know how I knew, but I was sure. Someone was inside the dark house, watching. I searched around with my eyes. I whirled quickly to face the rest of the room, straining my own eyes to see into the shadows, trying not even to breathe.

"Elijah...?" I called in a contained whisper. I knew any vampire would hear that.

But no one answered me. I was sure Elijah would if it were him. He wouldn't want to scare me like this. I shook my head. I was being paranoid. Since when had Renesmee Cullen been afraid of anything?

I tried to slow my heartbeat but the feeling wouldn't leave me. Something in my head kept saying, __get out of here, there's something in here, something evil, something that wants you__ _._ But that was crazy.

Something moved in the shadows. My scream froze in my throat. I held motionless, but my heart was beating so loudly I knew it hardly mattered. Helplessly, I watched as a shape in the darkness moved out of the shadows and toward me. It seemed almost as if the darkness itself had come to life and was taking a humanoid form before my eyes.

"Do I frighten you?" The voice was pleasant. He had curled dirty-blond hair and light blue eyes that contrasted with his pearl-white skin. His face was delicate and yet masculine enough to attract me. He was very well built, remarkably good-looking, even more so than Elijah. He wore casual clothes, a dark green long sleeved shirt and jeans. He was still smiling faintly. "I'm sorry I frightened you." He didn't sound sorry at all.

"I'm not frightened!" I snapped. "I was just startled. Which is hardly surprising, what with you lurking in the dark like that."

"I've been known to lurk," he admitted. "But interesting things happen in the dark. You know that." He was laughing at me, I could sense it. He had taken a step closer and I found myself admiring his beauty.

He gazed at me so fixedly I had trouble swallowing. With his eyes on my lips, he murmured, "Oh, yes."

"What?" My cheeks and throat were flushing, burning with blood. I felt light-headed.

"I can see why he didn't tell me."

Then, in one step, he moved toward me, so that we were close enough to touch. I couldn't breathe. I could smell rosemary on him. His eyes held mine and I couldn't look away. They were like no eyes I had ever seen, blue as the sky. He leaned toward me, bending his head down to mine. I felt my own eyes half closed, losing focus. My head tilted back, my lips parted.

He made the mistake of touching my face. I was flooded with pain, with emptiness. I knew who he was and I knew what he was doing. I saw this was a game to him. I felt the annoyance, the grudging respect. There was something else too, something hot and fierce that scared me. My strength returned to me and I jerked back away from him, stumbling against a chair.

What was happening to me? Was I so desperate, so deprived of sex that I wanted to kiss Elijah's _brother_?

Guilt weighted me down. For a few minutes I had completely forgotten about Elijah. It was unbelievable. I hadn't thought it to be possible. Now his image filled my mind and the longing for him was like a physical pain in my body. I wanted Elijah and him only.

I blinked and breathed hard gathering the courage to look at the vampire in front of me. There was pure fury in his eyes, a dark wave of menace. Then he calmed himself and smiled, a swift brilliant smile. But it wasn't him who spoke.

"Get away, Niklaus." Elijah moved and I saw him, standing in the shadows of the dark hall.

He didn't look at all reassuring. His face was very still, absolutely impenetrable. But I felt such relief it hurt. I slumped and heard my own breath sigh out. I took a few casual steps toward Elijah, hoping he would speak again. Or move. But it was the other one who did.

"Brother," he said amused. "Who is your friend?"

"I'm Renesmee Cullen," I told him against my will. Then I realized he was in my head, willing me to speak. I fought him out.

"Aren't you sweet," he observed.

"Not especially."

He laughed. "Aren't you going to introduce us, Elijah?"

Elijah looked like that was the last thing he wanted to do. "Nessie, this is my brother, Niklaus. Vampire King of New Orleans."

I tried hard not to gasp. It didn't matter. They ignored me.

"Are you quite attached to your friend?" asked Niklaus, his voice sarcastic.

Elijah was tensed. "She's mine," he said, his voice cold and smooth.

The Vampire King inclined his head, but he gave me the once-over again. "Well, if you will excuse us, _Nessie_ ," he said, "my brother and I have business to discuss."

Elijah seemed to relax. I didn't. But having no choice in the matter, I turned my back and walked away.


	6. A Few Good Men

"How are you?" my mom asked me that next morning. She sat by my bed and patted me on the leg. I stared at her in surprise that she was here, that she knew something was wrong. How often she knew when I needed someone to talk to. With just a glance at me and she could count the amount of things I had left unsaid.

I took a deep breath to steady myself. "I'm sorry, mom." I read the emotions as they scrolled across her face. Surprise. Disbelief. Suspicion. I bit my lip. I felt funny telling her that but it was the most honest truth.

She reached out her hand and caressed my cheek with cold fingers. Her emotions washed over me. Her motherly love and the tiny bit of hunger the warmth of my body heat brought her. It was just an ordinary feeling, it was almost nonexistent, but it was there. I knew she would never even consider hurting me, none of them would, but more than once I'd noticed I smelled like breakfast to them.

"What's the matter, Nessie?" she asked, her voice ringing. "Why are you sorry?" When I didn't answer, she shook her head. "I had forgotten," she said wistfully.

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You," she smiled. "When you were very little. I guess it didn't last very long, did it? But I remember it well enough. You almost never spoke out loud. You used to show us what you wanted, what you needed. And then you were all grown up and never again did you show us anything. Why is that, Nessie? Why do you refuse your... your gift?"

I stared into my mother's golden eyes. They hadn't always been like this. They were said to have been brown, an exact replica of mine. Or the other way around. But I looked nothing like her. I've always looked... immortal. Whereas she still looked human though immortality had been granted to her. I wondered how she could look like this and still be what she was.

"There is sweet music here," I recited to her, "that softer falls than petals from blown roses on the grass, or night-dews on still waters between walls of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass... You used to read that to me every night. Why don't you anymore?"

My mother smiled and she looked so beautiful I remembered something I overheard Alice telling Jasper one day. "It's no wonder her name means beauty." No wonder, indeed.

"We didn't know how long you would live," she admitted. "You spoke your first word when you were exactly one week old. I was so frightened, Nessie. Then you were walking. Then you were reading. Carlisle said the growth of your body was gradually slowing, but that didn't assure me of anything. Your mind continued to race on ahead. And you were an adult before I could get used to the idea of being a mother."

"I'm sorry," I repeated.

"What for, Nessie?"

"For everything."

"You did nothing wrong."

"I feel like-like I keep being pressed against walls. And I keep making a mess wherever I go. Elijah-"

"He loves you and you love him. Why are you apologizing for it? I never did. And I don't regret one minute of my life with Edward. And more often than not I wonder if eternity will be enough time with him. He might not like Elijah because he fears him, but even Edward understand what you're feeling. So don't ever apologize for love, Nessie."

In her golden eyes I saw the reflection of my face. My large chocolate eyes were watery and wide. I wondered what was this – this fear that had taken over me since last night, since... _Niklaus_. I wasn't afraid of him, no. I was afraid of what he might do to Elijah. There was something going on there between those two, a war I didn't want to be a part of. But how could I leave Elijah in it alone?

"I won't," I said, but it didn't feel like a promise.

Mother studied me carefully. "You have a visitor," she said after a while. I looked at her inquiringly. "He came to woo you again." She sounded slightly amused, but she knew the situation was serious.

The name came to me before she spoke it – Marcus. One of the three leaders of the Volturi coven. Ever since I became what you would call a "woman grown", he'd started to visit in order to ask me to consider him for an eternal husband. I thought he was awfully kind after I got over how creepy he was. He was the one who detected my relationship with Jacob was completely fraternal and would never go beyond that. That seemed to have given Jacob leave to go and fall in love with Leah. I was grateful for that.

But after he got rid of Jacob, whom apparently Marcus considered his biggest adversary, he started to come more often and though I kept trying to explain to him I didn't feel like that about him, he kept coming to remind me he could see how I felt and how my feelings toward him grew warmer every time. I couldn't deny I liked him. He was kind – if you could call a Volturi kind – and he never forced himself on me or anything. He would take me for walks on the park and he would tell me stories of his life in exchange, and I quote, " _for nothing more than the blessing of your company_."

I didn't mind at all spending time with Marcus. He proved himself a good friend and a good ally, would I ever need one. I only wished he would understand I would never love him like he wanted me to. And I hated that I was causing him pain.

He knew of pain already. A long time ago, he had married Didyme, Aro's sister. He'd loved her dearly. She had the incredible yet underestimated ability to make people happy. I thought this was the greatest gift of all. Why, if you could make every one you care about feel happy all the time, wouldn't you? And Marcus saw it too. And he must've felt happiness beyond compare while he was with her. So much that now he seemed unable to be pleased by anything at all.

Anyway, Marcus and Didyme eventually became discontent with the Volturi, and planned on leaving. In order to prevent this, Aro, who pretended to have given his blessing, murdered his own flesh and blood because Marcus "was too integral" to Aro's plans. Of course, Marcus never knew of this, but I've met Aro and he insisted upon touching me not knowing my power would work just as his.

I thought about telling Marcus several times, but what good would it make? He would only lose yet another person he loved, a friend, a brother, someone who cared for him, or pretended to. And though still apathetic, Marcus seemed more... alive whenever we were together. It wasn't much, but I could make him laugh. For brief seconds, I was able to take him away from that permanent state of grief-related apathy. But that was the best I could do for him.

"So that's why you're here," I said.

"Yes and no," my mother said. "I came to tell you he's here. But I also came to see how you are. You came home so early last night. And you seemed sad. Why weren't you with Elijah, Nessie? What happened?"

I shook my head and got out of bed. It was a bright sunny day. It was yet another day drown

in the supernatural world. And once again would I spend a sunny day with a sad, ill tempered immortal. I seemed to attract a lot of those.

I glanced at my mother and wondered how to answer her. She knew something was up and

I had never been a very good liar. Something I had her to thank for. So I decided on the truth, but I decided on a brief, emotionless disturbed truth.

"I met his brother," I told her at last.


	7. Children Of The Damned

Marcus guessed before I could even bring Elijah into the conversation. He stood like a statue, his red eyes emotionless searching my face for anything that would differ from the last time we had seen each other.

"We know of the Mikaelsons," he admitted. "We've a pact. We stay out of each other's business. It has always been so. That it took them so long to discover you, it is astonishing."

I tried not to show offense at this. I was sure he didn't mean it like it sounded. Like I was a prize, a good adding to a collection, a must-have to their vampire clans.

"I dreamed I would see the sun," he said glancing at the ceiling as if he could see through it. It was dark in the living room and we were alone. Nobody cared much to entertain Marcus and Marcus preferred it like this. "Once, long ago. I dreamed I would see the face of God."

"Maybe you still can," I ventured.

"I pity you," he said not unkindly. "You are bound to vampires. You cannot get away anywhere you go. I fear for you, Renesmee. That someday you should find yourself desperate for a little humanity and unable to find it even within yourself."

"I love Elijah."

"A vampire."

"Yes."

"One of the oldest. All vampires are damned. We're a taint, a blot on the face of the Earth. Murderers. Animals. Monsters. It is detachment that makes possible to live with our sins, a sublime loneliness with which we move through the world of mortal men. And all material troubles pass from us. And we do not care. And we do not feel."

"That's not true. Not for Elijah. Not for my family. Maybe not even for you, Marcus."

"But it is, Renesmee," he assured me. "It is. No matter how much we try to change, it is impossible. There is no humanity left. That which grows in you, stronger every day, that is what we lack. And I want you by my side because you remind me of that. You must remind him as well."

I shook my head. I would not believe Elijah was with me because he needed my humanity, though I would lend it to him anytime he needed. But he loved me. As sure as the sun would rise. And I told Marcus that.

"Angels are detached," I shrugged. "But they are capable of love. They gaze upon the face of God with complete love." Or so it was supposed, if you were religious. I wasn't particular into that, but I liked poetry and all poets agreed on that.

"Adoration, more likely."

"Is there a difference?"

"Positively."

"You're implying that vampires cannot love. But I know that to be false. You've loved, Marcus. Don't let time, immortality, make you forget it."

He took my hand and squeezed. I remembered he liked doing that. I always took the precaution of wearing gloves when I was with him. His pain was too great for me.

"Young one," he started softly, "I will say no more. I wanted you for me, but I never thought I was your best choice. Your best choice lies with those you don't cohort with. The humans. The people. They are the ones moving ahead. They are not stuck in time. They will no hold you back and freeze you to your beauty, though that it's not considered a shame in my eyes."

"How are people better, Marcus?" I asked exasperated. "Aren't they evil and cunning, just like vampires?"

The vampire looked uneasy and unhappy. "They, at least, are human, part of God's plan. Vampires are an abomination."

"And yet they've raised me, loved me. They've been good to me. Vampires are my family."

"But they take the blood of innocents also." His red eyes bore into mine. "They have to kill to feed and that is never going to change. When younger, I fed on children."

I felt myself flinching but I thought it would be rude to remove my hand from his. "What-what stopped you?"

"Nothing will stop me, dearest," he smiled weakly. "Nothing but my death."

"I'm so sorry," I said inadequately. Despite everything, Marcus was my friend – a very weird friendship we had – and he was suffering, and I truly did feel sorry for that.

Marcus left that same night. My family understood all too easily why he declined the invitation to stay for a few days. Everyone kind of thought Elijah would show up and everything would turn another degree of weird, but that didn't happen. Elijah didn't even call.

The next day, I went out for a morning walk. I was in that kind of mood where I was rolling in how awful everything was. Despite a nearly sleepless night I felt energetic. And worried. And I wouldn't let go of my cellphone in case Elijah decided to remember I existed.

By lunch time, I decided to visit Jacob and Leah. I tried real hard not to be bitter. I tried to pretend that all was well, that was soon as Elijah came to me again he would be a passionate lover, like before, and treasure and make me feel valuable. That none of what Marcus told me was true.

Oh, God, I needed to see him. To hear his voice, to feel his arms around me. Being away from him was like being separated from my own flesh. The pain in my middle was the unmistakable pain of rejection.

Jacob was this enormous, thick, toned and muscular guy. He had always been good looking, but now that he had a family and a wife that loved him, he looked even better. Happier. More alive.

Leah had perfect copper skin and eyelashes like feather dusters. She was truly beautiful and exotic. There was nobody like her. Once it was established we were all family, neither Jacob nor Leah hesitated on following us to New Orleans. According to her, we were a pack and we should stick together. She looked eager to leave Forks. I believe it was all she had wanted for the longest time.

"And how are you, Nessie?" asked Leah. She sat beside me caressing the protuberance of her belly.

"How are _you_?" I deflected. "There's someone growing inside of you!"

I heard Jacob laughing, though he wasn't in the living room with us.

"I think I'll live," said Leah carefully.

"Well... so will I." I shrugged. Leah didn't insist in the matter, which made me want to share more. "Things have been weird," I told her. "Elijah... His creep of a brother showed up and I haven't heard from him since."

"Did you try calling him?"

"Yes."

"Did you try looking for him?" I stared at her. The last time I went to his house without being invited, Niklaus had been there. I wasn't sure I wanted to repeat the scene. "Honey, you can't wait for men. You want something, go and do it yourself. With a few good punches, you get what is yours."

Maybe Leah wasn't the best person to give advice about vampire/human relationships, but I didn't have anything to lose, did I? So I went to his house, to that strange old house and I allowed myself in and I called his name, my heart racing just for saying it.

Again, it wasn't Elijah who received me.


	8. While You Were Sleeping

She was a very attractive woman, so attractive I was immediately sure she was a vampire. And sure enough, as I focused on her, I could hear no heartbeat, I could feel no warmth emanating from her body.

She had natural light blond hair, baby blue eyes, full lips, and pale light skin. It was enough to make me feel incredibly jealous. She was as tall as Leah and just as slim, but she lacked the werewolf muscles. She looked no older than I did, but like me she wasn't what she looked like.

She dressed stylish and she had fashionable jewelry ornamenting her figure. When she saw me, she placed her hands on her waist like my mother did whenever she was about to scold me. "Unless you're the maid you can't just burst into someone's home like that," she told me.

"Hello," I said automatically. "I'm not the maid."

She smirked and her eyes sparkled with amusement. "Oh, don't tell me. You're the girl. Niklaus told me about you. He said Elijah was yet again barking at the wrong tree."

That made me feel so lovely. "I see you share more than gossip with the King. There's also the lack of manners."

"And the bad temper," she warned. "So watch it. Now where is my brother?"

Then it hit me. "You're-you're Rebekah?" the vampire just stood there. "Wait... um, you mean you don't know where Elijah is?"

"I assumed he was with you."

"No. I actually came to find him. I haven't seen him in days and I was worried about him."

"How sweet," she mocked, but she looked worried too. That made me tense all over. The

fact that she was worried about her immortal vampire brother made my legs feel like jelly.

"What-" I tried to say but my throat was closing up.

"When was the last time you saw him, girl?"

"About..." I coughed trying to clear the lump that was forming. "About three nights ago. I came here and... Niklaus-"

Rebekah's eyes widened in surprise then narrowed in suspicion. "This can only mean one thing," she said to me. "Niklaus has done something dastardly and Klaus-like."

I tried to wrap my head around that. Since that night I had been feeling like there was something bad going on between the two brothers but the thought of Niklaus doing something to hurt Elijah had never felt so real like when she said it.

I tried to swallow. My nostrils flared as I breathed hard. I tried to keep my voice steady, but I knew I was failing miserably. "What-what are we going to do to find him?"

"We?" she sneered. "Please. You are going to keep your mouth shut, little human. Act just as normal. Live your life as you always do."

The room started to spin. Rebekah seemed to be talking to me from a dream. The pain went so deep, I could not even feel the wound. But I knew I would later.

"I'm gonna search this house inch by inch until I find what my evil brother has done to my good one," continued Rebekah. "You should go."

She turned her back and headed down the first staircase she found. My head was throbbing, but I followed her anyway. I needed Elijah with such gut-clenching intensity that I didn't care about the ugly look Rebekah gave me.

Once, as we laid naked together in bed, he had made a promise to me. He said he would never leave me. He said he would never hurt me. And here I was, alone and hurting all over. I felt eviscerated, empty, and betrayed.

I wasn't always the drama queen, but tonight it was not a night to count my blessings.

Though I made an attempt to fend off self-pity, I wasn't too successful. ' _No Elijah_ ' were two words that didn't go together.

Oh, I wanted Elijah to curl up against my back. I wanted his cool lips on my neck. I wanted his white hands running down my stomach. I wanted to talk to him, to make sure he was okay. I wanted him to laugh off my terrible suspicions.

"Get a grip," Rebekah said suddenly and I noticed she was staring me. "You want to help me? Fine. But don't doddle. Now, come along, girl."

"It's Nessie," I said and was surprised at how loud my voice sounded.

"Nessie," she acknowledged. Rebekah led me through some tunnels. She said this house once belonged to the Governor of New Orleans, whom Klaus and Elijah had helped building the city's first levees. She said the Governor had lots of secret rooms. "I'll show you his favorite."

The room she meant, was dusty and dark, but my vampire sight made out the shapes of about five or six coffins. I felt sick.

"You think he killed him," I whispered.

"We can't be killed, silly. But that doesn't stop Klaus from finding ways to torture us." The relief that took over me hurt almost as the pain. He was alive. I knew it was impossible for him to have ceased to exist. The world wouldn't just keep going around if he were dead. Everything would turn as gloomy and miserable as I was feeling.

Rebekah kept talking. "He has a set of mystical daggers. One in the heart sends us into a deep slumber. Klaus gets his jollies from keeping us in a box until he decides to pull the dagger out."

Yes, I remembered something like this. Elijah had mentioned when he told me his story. He'd

said Niklaus kept their coffins in stand-by, that he liked to be prepared for when his family members disappointed him. I felt a sudden rush of hatred flowing through me. If the Vampire King of New Orleans was here right now, I would punch him in the face.

Rebekah noticed my anger and smiled. "Welcome to the family, Nessie. You should have run the second you realized Elijah was gone."

"I won't. I need to find him. Please, help me find him."

Rebekah raised her hand silencing me. "No need to beg, Nessie. I will find my brother. And I will leave soon after. You should do the same. You don't want to mess around Niklaus. He is not so forgiving. And the fact that you smell disgustingly of werewolf would certainly cause him trouble."


	9. The Map Of Moments

While Rebekah searched the house, I went to the main room where I was sure I could feel his presence looming around.

"Klaus!" I shouted, the one word I knew would bring him to me. But since my anger was strong, I added, "Get out here and tell me what you did to your brother, you narcissistic, back-stabbing wanker!"

"Enough with all the shouting," he said appearing out of nowhere. His pale skin glowed in the dark. His voice was as I remembered it, quiet, ironical and amused. He was just behind me, so close that my clothes brushed his as I turned. His smile was the same too – tempting, sexy.

I reeled back a couple of steps and tried to keep myself strong. "Where's Elijah?"

A line appeared between Klaus' eyes. "Elijah who?"

I clenched my fists. "What did you do to him?"

Klaus shrugged. "Maybe he's on holiday."

I slapped him. I used all of my vampire speed to do that because I knew I'd have no chance if I didn't. But it was a good hard slap, with the full force of my body behind it and it snapped Klaus' head slightly to one side. My hand even stung.

He moved too fast for me to see. He grabbed my neck and slammed me against the wall. I gasped. His light blue eyes sparkled. His mouth was cruel. He smelled me with interest. "You are strong," he decided. "What are you?"

 _There it was again_.

"Where is Elijah?" I asked once more. "If you've hurt him-"

"Then, what?" he whispered, still pressing me against the hard wall. "What will you do, Nessie? What can you do against me?"

"I will find something," I promised him.

His body relaxed and he let go of my neck. He straightened up and smiled. "I do believe you. And that makes you too good for my brother."

"Where is he?" I insisted.

Niklaus went around the room as if he couldn't hear me, as if the entire situation bored him. "My brother," he went on, "is a fool. He longs for someone he can protect, take care of. But you... I could feel your anger from the other side of town. I can feel it now. You don't need his protection. You have unique power of your own." His eyes fixed on mine, his voice soft and urgent. "In grace and beauty and sheer fascination, you are like Tatia. But that's as far as your similarities go."

I remembered the beautiful woman with the oval face, the almond-shaped brown eyes, and the smooth, long dark brown hair I had seen in my mind that first time I had touched Elijah in that dirty smelly bathroom. Being compared to her bothered me. Not only because I was sure she had meant a lot to Elijah, but also because I thought she was much better looking than me. I also remembered what Elijah had said after our first night together... __anyone who knows you would want to protect you__.

Well, not everyone. Niklaus was the living proof of it. Oh, Goddamn it, Elijah. He had promised he would protect me always. That he would be by my side. Now where the hell was he?

"Tell me where he is, Klaus," I demanded.

"Can't you stop thinking about him for an instant so we can have an actual conversation?"

"No!"

He raised an eyebrow. "I would cut your tongue if I thought that would make you more respectful."

Now, it was my turn to smile. "You can't intimidate me. You don't have any power over me. I hate you. You disgust me. And there is nothing you can do to me, not any more."

He looked cruel and bitterly hard in the moonlight. "You have no idea what I can do," he threatened. "But you'll find out." He turned his back and walked away.

"Where are you going?" I shouted, but he did not come back.

I called my mom and informed her of everything that was happening and that I would stay with Rebekah until one of us had found out where Elijah was. She said they would look around as well.

I went to Elijah's room – I knew all too well where it was – and lied in bed where I cried and cried for a long, long time. Elijah was alive, somewhere. He could be hurt. He could be anywhere and he could be anything. After a long time, I realized my thoughts were no longer rational. Everything inside my head narrowed down to one single idea – _Find Elijah_.

I knew if he could he would come to me. So I focused on his name. I poured all my will into the thought. I created him in my mind, using all my senses, conjuring him to me.

I kept that up until I fell asleep.

When I woke, Elijah was in bed with me. Oh, thank God! Relief swept over me. I felt his cool body behind me, and I rolled over, half asleep, and put my arms around him. But when I touched his bare skin, I had to gasp. His mind was a mixture of amusement, wickedness and lust.

My eyes flew open and I pushed back against rock-hard shoulders.

"Good morrow, love," said Klaus.

"Gah! What are you doing here?"

"Snuggling."

 _ _Son of a bitch__ _,_ I thought, but almost immediately my anger left me. Elijah wasn't here. He was gone. False hope was really a bitch. I sat on the bed and hugged my knees. I felt so empty not even Nikalus' presence bothered me anymore

He must've sensed my feelings because his eyes turned gentle and he said softly, "I don't know where Elijah is."

That hit me like a wrecking ball. I didn't know why, but I believed him almost immediately. There was something about the way he said it, there was a hidden feeling in his words that I couldn't quite place

it, but it felt real and warm.

"But I have an idea," he added. I looked up to him. "I came to speak to him that night. He shouldn't have come to New Orleans after me. The supernatural world was not happy to have more than one Original back in town. And then the King of Volterra showed up."

I knew my mouth was falling open, but I couldn't seem to stop it. "Excuse me," I said, after a long moment, "but – but I could have sworn you said – the King? Of Volterra? As in... Aro?"

Klaus nodded without a trace of a smile. I could hear my heartbeat speeding up. He could probably hear it too. But what was I to do? I was freaking out. Aro. Aro was here. And Marcus had come to see me and didn't even think of mentioning. Well, hell, maybe he didn't know. Aro was a cunning little bastard. He could've come without telling anyone. But why?

"Did you – Did you speak to him?"

"You know about the Volturi." It wasn't a question.

"Did you speak to Aro? What did he say? Why was he here? What did he want?"

Klaus regarded me carefully. "To ask me things. About Elijah. Of course, I didn't tell him anything he didn't already know. But he seemed awfully interested in my brother's personal life. Say, do you think it might have something to do with you?"

I tried to swallow my panic. I shook my head. "No. I'm not – I'm not that special. He wouldn't want – He wouldn't -" Klaus sat down in front of me and cup my face on his hands. His eyes pierced into mine.

I saw Aro, his delicate translucent skin as it stood in shocking contrast to the long black hair that framed his face. His red eyes studied Klaus as they talked. Aro didn't look pleased.

Then I felt Klaus curiosity bursting inside of me. "What are you?" he asked. I saw myself as he was seeing me and I felt some sort of desperation. It surprised me when I realized the feeling was his not mine. He was desperate to know. He wouldn't bare another minute in the dark.

I pushed him away from me and tried to steady my breathing.

"Tell me," he ordered. "You must. Aro already knows more than I do. Now we can't have that, can we, love?" I felt him trying to control me and I repelled him. A shadow went through his face. "Tell me!" he said again. "In time, Aro will make my brother talk. If you're anywhere around when he breaks, they'll have you."

That sent chills up my spine. Oh, Elijah. So I told him. I told him everything he wanted to know. Klaus got up and paced around the bed before he returned his attention to me.

"I can't tell if you're lying or not, which is remarkable," he confessed, his blue eyes as hard as marbles. "For your sake, I hope you are telling the truth. I could torture you until you told me the truth, or until I was sure you had been telling me the truth from the beginning."

I gulped. No more Mr Nice Vampire.

"But," he continued thoughtfully, "that might damage you too badly which not Elijah nor Aro would be very pleased about." He sat on the bed again, very close to me. He leaned over to me as if inclined to touch me. I prayed he wouldn't. "I don't enjoy seeing you scared of me," he lied. He enjoyed that very much. "I feel... fond of you."

I tried hard not to laugh. "Are you going to torture me or not?" I asked bluntly. "Are you going to find Elijah or let him rot?"

Klaus smiled. "I'm not going to hurt you," he decided. "I would hate to ruin that beautiful skin. One day, I might get to see all of it."

"Wow. I just hope it's still on my body when that happens."

"So do I."

My eyes fixed on his. I wasn't feeling very sexy or very flirty at the moment. Regardless of having just woke up, I was exhausted. "Klaus?" I said weakly. "Are you going to find Elijah, whatever it takes?"

That was all I needed to know to form my opinion of who this Vampire King was. He did not disappoint.

"Whatever it takes," he agreed.

I was suddenly able to breathe again. I was sure he would come up with a good plan. Klaus could be a miserable excuse for a sibling but even without knowing him I could see that there was none more diabolical.


	10. Blame It On The Night

Nothing stopped me from searching for Elijah in my dreams. I must have rolled over three times, reaching out to see if he'd slid into bed with me. But every time, the other side of the bed was empty and cold.

Guess that was better than finding Klaus there instead.

Klaus showed up at my house and basically ordered my family to let me go to Italy with him. Vampires growled and I feared war was upon us, but Klaus handled the situation quite well. He threw intimidation, threats, seduction, an appeal for Elijah's life, an appeal for my life, along with other factors like him being the Vampire King.

In the end, there wasn't much the Cullens could do. All of them volunteered to accompany me which I was thankful for, but I couldn't vouch for their safety and that made me anxious. I thought I'd better go alone. Nevertheless, I knew they would be watching out for me and that they would show up in Italy if danger dawned upon me.

Volterra was a beautiful place but I was too tortured with anxiety to really see the hills or the walled towns that looked like castles in the distance. The sun was high in the pale blue sky.

I thought I'd be able to feel him once we were in the same continent again, but as I stared at the castle city atop the closest hill I felt nothing but dread. This was my first time here. I'd never wanted to come. And Marcus had invited me several times.

I studied the ancient sienna walls and towers crowning the peak of the steep hill. Rebekah and Klaus both stood beside me wearing black. Their skin shimmered in the sunlight. I should've felt better being here with them. But they were just as old and just as beautiful as the city. It absolutely terrified me.

We began the steep climb, and the road grew congested. It was very windy but I didn't feel the cold. The streets were narrow, cobbled with the same color stones as the faded cinnamon brown buildings that darkened the street with their shade. We headed for the Palazzo dei Priori or The Clock Tower. But we didn't go in. Instead, we went straight into the alley way behind it.

Two figures met us there, as Klaus predicted they would. Klaus and Rebekah stepped forward, his arms spread wide, protectively, in front of me. "Greetings, gentlemen," he said, his voice calm and pleasant, on the surface. "We're here to see your King."

"Shall we take this conversation to a more appropriate venue?" a smooth voice whispered menacingly.

"Certainly," Klaus said dryly. "Let us seek better cover. We'll be right behind you, Felix."

Felix was very big, tall and thick through the shoulders. I remembered him well from that day they all went to kill me while I was little. I remembered the other one too, though not as much, and I was almost sure his name was Demetri.

Rebekah went ahead with a smile. "Let's all behave ourselves, shall we? There are ladies present." Her stance was casual, there was no hint of any underlying tension.

We all followed her into the darkness. A little further on, we met the one I feared the most. Her size was insignificant, but everyone stiffened at her presence. She had lank, pale brown hair, wide eyes and full lips. But the cruelness in her erased her beauty.

"Jane," said Klaus in recognition. He didn't seem tense at all. Maybe even amused.

We kept going. There was a loose curve to the alley and a squared-off dead end. They were all sliding gracefully down an open hole in the street. I followed. I made more noise than they did, but no one seemed to care.

It was dim, but not black at the bottom. The light from the hole above provided a faint glow, reflection wetly from the stones under my feet. The path slant downward, taking us deeper into the ground.

At the end of the tunnel was a grate – the iron bars were rustling, but thick as my arm. A small door made of thinner interlaced bars was standing open. We ducked through and hurried on to a larger, brighter stoner room where we found a low, heavy wooden door.

The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs, like thrones, that were spaced unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls. The room was not empty. A handful of people were convened in seemingly relaxed conversation. The murmur of low, smooth voices was a gentle hum in the air.

The exquisite faces all turned toward our party as we entered the room. Most of the immortals were dressed in inconspicuous pants and shirts, but Aro wore one of the long robes. It was pitch-black, and brushed against the floor.

"Renesmee Cullen!" he cried in evident delight. "This is a happy surprise! Wonderful! Marcus, Caius, look! Our dear Renesmee came to see us. Isn't she fabulous?"

I glanced at Marcus. He was staring at me in awe. He didn't expect to see me again, I realized. I hoped and hoped he hadn't told Aro about his last visit.

"And Rebekah and Niklaus Mikaelson," continued Aro. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Klaus walked around the room like he owned the place. "I just thought it was time to show dear Nessie the eternal city."

"Did you now?" Aro raised his eyebrows. "In my last visit, Niklaus, you did not show any hints that you knew her well."

"That's because it was none of your business, Aro," Klaus said with ease. I saw a lot of vampires stiffen up, but Aro laughed delighted.

"Of course not. But I was under the impression your brother-"

"Oh, my brothers were always fighting for their toys," said Rebekah brightly. "But they do know how to share."

I felt my face reddening. I was not liking this plan.

"Indeed," said Aro. "So, dear Miss Cullen-"

"Is mine," declared Klaus with such authority I almost believed him. He stopped beside me and wrapped his arm around my neck. I tried to look comfortable as I leaned toward him. It was not easy.

"Marcus?"

I raised my eyes and stared at Marcus pleading. I had assured Klaus and Rebekah that Marcus would not have told Aro about me and Elijah. Now, before him, I wasn't so sure. My heart raced and the noise attracted the attention of every immortal in the room. I saw Klaus rolling his eyes, then his mouth found mine and he kissed me in earnest, pretending he was the cause of my restlessness.

There was really no excuse for my behavior. This was Elijah's brother. _His brother, goddamn it!_ And yet I reacted like a mad person. Blood boiled under my skin, burned in my lips. My breath came in a wild gasp. My arms reached up to twine tightly around his neck, and I clutched him to me. That was precisely what convinced the vampires that we were together, what saved our lives. But that didn't stop me from feeling like shit when it was over.

Klaus looked at me like he couldn't believe what had just happened. Well, I couldn't either. Then he smiled a surprisingly impish grin.


	11. The Ties That Bind

Marcus said he was surprised by the intensity of our relationship. I hoped he was lying because he cared about me, even if slightly.

I fought to keep my breathing even.

"Perhaps I was mistaken," said Aro in a voice that made clear he didn't believe himself capable of such a thing. He knew about me and Elijah. Marcus hadn't told him. Aro knew even before. And _he_ hadn't told Marcus.

My eyes flickered to Klaus, and, though his face was composed, I thought he seemed a little smug.

 _Dear me_.

Aro continued to drift into a thoughtful expression. He was quiet for a moment, his eyes flickering between the two of us. "So you want my permission to stay in my eternal city?"

"If you'd be so kind," said Rebekah.

"Aro," Caius complained.

Aro shook his head. "Dear Caius, do not fret. These are our friends. Beautiful Renesmee needs to see the city at night. There is nothing more mesmerizing. You will enjoy your stay, I hope. And when you leave, send my regards to the Cullens. Your talented mother. The amazing Alice. My friend Carlisle."

I nodded eagerly. "They'll be delighted to hear from you," I lied.

"Felix, do show our guests to their rooms," Aro ordered and we were excused.

Felix gestured that we should follow him and then set off through a back exit and another maze of corridors. Klaus pulled me swiftly along beside him. Rebekah was close by my other side, her face hard.

Of course, I was expected to share a room with Klaus. I had mix feelings about that. On one hand, I thought it was completely improper and unfair to Elijah. On the other hand, I would sleep much better knowing he was in the room with me.

I threw myself on a gosh-to-goodness canopied four-poster and waited for him to say something. He didn't. I supposed his plan was working and I assumed he wouldn't dare say anything incriminating out loud; there were too many vampires around.

He lied next to me, but he didn't touch me. We both stared at the ceiling silently. It was painted to resemble the Sistine Chapel, full of haunted people laboring, paying for their sins. I didn't know much about art, but I knew the Volturi were big fans of it.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" whispered Klaus. I glanced at him. His eyes searched the ceiling as if he was trying hard to absorb every detail. "I painted something similar once. I suppose we all do, eventually."

I narrowed my eyes. "You paint?" I asked speaking as low as he did.

He didn't take his eyes off the ceiling. "Painting is a metaphor for control. Every choice is mine. The canvas, the color. Art told me that one's vision can be achieved by sheer force of will."

I wasn't sure why, but I laughed. "Of course you would say something like that."

"You disagree?"

"Most ardently. I think painting is for those who are afraid to speak truths. They don't know any other way to show what they feel. So they paint. Whether people understand what their paintings mean, is subjective. But it's a good try to put everything out there. I don't paint, so I could be wrong."

He chuckled. "I see why he likes you," he said so low I could've imagined it.

That got to me. "You see nothing." He raised an eyebrow. "What do you suppose Aro is doing to your brother?" I mouthed barely speaking the words.

Klaus seemed to thought about that. "Well, he cannot kill him, if that's what you're worried about, love. And everything will, of course, depend on what he wants from Elijah."

"You know what he wants. You're not telling me, but you know," I accused.

He shrugged. "Knowledge comes to us in due time."

"Screw that," I snapped and he signed for me to be silent. There was a knock on the door. Klaus asked whoever it was to come in. It was Rebekah. She sat on the bed looking her usual crossed self.

"Aro's having a party. In your honor, I might add," she waved toward me. "He probably wants to show you around to his other pet vampires. You should dress up nicely, Nessie. And when I say nicely, mind you, I mean hot as a pepper. Show off those perky little breasts of yours and do your best to seduce every vampire in the room. Is that clear?"

"I don't see how-"

"If they are busy lusting for the little hybrid, they won't notice us roaming about," she explained.

"That's not a very good plan," I told her. "And I don't like showing skin."

"We don't care what you like, love," said Klaus with a grin.

Since I had no choice in the matter I did as I was told, but I took my time in the process of looking... _well, hot_. It was easier than I supposed it would be since Aro sent me the dress he wanted me to wear. I was a doll and they could do with me as they pleased. How lovely.

The dress was white with a neckline that went down to my navel. That was it. I was going to die tonight. If the hungry vampires didn't attack me and suck all my blood, __no problemo__ , I would die of shame. But I would not be living to see the sun rise.

The dress had no back either and I felt cold just looking at it. But I was going to do as Klaus and Rebekah had instructed me. I would keep my head high and let my _'jolly human scent do the rest'_ as Klaus had so nicely put. As a death wish, I arranged my hair in a bun leaving my neck completely bare making sure everyone in the room would have a clear view of the veins pulsing with my blood.

 _ _I'm not surviving this__.

I was late but that had the effect desired. I entered the room and immediately everyone stopped to stare at me. I tried to keep my heart steady. Aro bowed to me and offered to kiss my hand. I knew this was a bad idea, but I also knew I had no choice. It would be rude to refuse. Luckily I had been raised with a mind reader and I'd learned a few tricks of my own. There were ways to stop him from seeing the truth. I could lock some thoughts deep into my mind and show him only what I wanted him to see.

When he touched me I directed my thoughts to Klaus. I thought about his mouth on mine. I manipulated my own memories and I did such a good job that when it was over I had trouble reminding myself of who Elijah was. What had been true and what hadn't.

"You look delicious," Aro told me.

 _Ew_.

Then Rebekah was by my side. She guided me through the crowd of vampires and handed me a drink. Thank god for Rebekah and her booze. "You do look delicious," she whispered.

"I think she means stunning," said Klaus approaching and kissing my cheek.

"You clean up pretty well yourself," I praised him. The smile on his face was comical. Boy, did this man liked to be praised.

"Don't be fool, love," he said. "I am the devil in disguise."

It was my turn to smile. "That I believe."

"Why don't you two dance?" advised Rebekah. That had been their plan all along. Move me around the room, sway me around so everyone could smell me. Oh, joy.

"Shall we?" Klaus took my hand and I had to fight to block his thoughts. It was really hard. His entire being was so imposing. He liked touching me. He knew he was enjoying this more than it was wise. But he was considering kissing me again, if not for the charade than for his own pleasure.

I blushed.

"Now, now, love. This much blood'll make the best of us lose our minds."

I closed my eyes as he guided me along. I tried to go to my happy place, but it was impossible. He had a hand on my bare back and that was making _me_ lose it. He wasn't like a regular vampire. His skin was strangely warm and as I leaned closer to him I could hear his heart. It didn't beat like mine, but there was some life in there.

I was so used to the emptiness of the vampires that I never knew until now how brilliant that sound was.

My body relaxed and I drowned in memories that weren't mine. A saw the girl, that same girl from Elijah's memories, Tatia, but she was with Klaus now. They teased and seemed so at easy with each other I couldn't believe it at first. That anyone had ever loved him, that he had ever loved anyone. But then she changed her mind.

She chose Elijah for all he was worth and the hurt of the bad brother was such that made my heart ache. Then his thoughts turned cloudy. I saw him at night, on the ground, wailing in pain. His arms and legs were bent awkwardly and the noise made me want to puke.

"What am I?" he begged looking up. Elijah stood before him. There was pain and shock in his beautiful features.

Another man appeared. "He's a beast," he declared.

The memory changed. Klaus sat on the ground, naked, covered in blood. There were bodies all around him. Elijah approached carefully and handed his brother a blanket. "How many?" asked Klaus. He had tears in his eyes.

"Six," answered Elijah. "You slaughtered six villagers, Niklaus."

The memory changed once more. The man from before tied Klaus to a cross. Klaus shouted and asked for help, but nobody helped him. The man called Elijah and commanded him to hold Klaus still.

"Help me, brother," Klaus pleaded.

I was so sure Elijah was going to help him that I gasped when he didn't. My eyes opened and I stepped away from Klaus. He pulled me back before anyone noticed. "What? What is it? Are you okay?"

I nodded but it was a lie. Maybe the biggest lie I told. I wasn't okay. Far from it. I didn't know that Elijah

I had seen in Klaus' memories. He looked exactly like the one I loved, but that couldn't be him. He wouldn't have let his brother, his own flesh and blood be treated thus.

And if he did... who was this man I was giving my life to save?


	12. Heart Of Darkness

"Nessie? Are you sure you're all right?"

I nodded again and smiled weakly. "I just need some air."

Klaus took my hand and led me outside to the garden. He chose a very dark corner where he was sure nobody would hear us. I trusted him, I mean, he did have the greatest supernatural hearing of us all.

"What happened?" he demanded.

I shook my head. I leaned against the nearest tree and tried to get my bearings. Klaus stepped closer to me, so close his face was almost touching mine. He inhaled, very delicately. Then he turned his eyes away.

"You're missing him?" he asked softly. I didn't answer. I couldn't. Klaus hugged me and I was so surprised I let him. He was so warm. I felt my eyes closing again.

Apparently, once you got used to regular and spectacular sex, your body developed a mind of its own when it was deprived of that recreation. My body begged me to knock the bad brother on the ground so it could have its way with him. Right here, right now.

I wouldn't open my eyes, because if I did, I would see the impulse mirrored in his face, the inclination, however little it was, and that would be all it would take.

But he was so warm. Oh, god. __Make a choice,__ my other self told me. __Get out of proximity or jump his bones.__

I pushed him away and he stumbled surprised. "What is the matter with you?"

"I'm sorry," I panted. "I just... I'm freaking out!"

"I can see that."

I rolled my eyes. "We should go back inside. We need to continue... what we are doing." I started moving, but he held me.

"What happened in there? Why are you so..." he seemed a lost for words.

I sighed. "I just... Sometimes I think... What am I doing? Are we good? Is Elijah... good? Because sometimes I see only evil around me. And I don't know why."

Klaus stood still as a statue. "I've seen quite a lot in my time," he said. "The world is a rather awful place, Nessie. Best to meet it on its own terms, I always say."

"But... it can't be like that. We can't be like that. The world isn't awful. People are not awful. Something must make them like this. We want to be good, don't we? That's all we want."

"That's all you want, perhaps," he shrugged. "Over the the course of my life, I've encountered no shortage of those who would presume to speak of good and evil. Such terms mean nothing. People do what is in their best interest regardless of who gets hurt. But I'll tell you this, Nessie. My enemies are not Elijah's enemies. They call him the Honorable One. The Noble Brother. He has earned his reputation, as have I." He stepped closer and placed his forehead on mine. "Know this: if Aro has Elijah, I will get him back and you'll be together again, if that is what you want."

"That doesn't sound like the Evil One," I noticed.

He laughed. "Is it evil to take what one wants to satisfy hunger even if doing so will cause another suffering?"

"Yes."

"What some would call evil I believe to be an appropriate response to a harsh and unfair world. If it's going to take me being my usual evil self to get my brother back, then that's what I'll do. But I will also be your friend. As long as I can be your friend without jeopardizing my own life. Or the future of my kingdom."

"Nice." I pushed him away more delicately this time. "Thank you for your honesty."

"Thank you for yours."

I thought of the secrets I was keeping and smiled. "You're welcome."

The rest of the party was a blur. Aro kept surrounding me to remind me of how beautiful I looked. Rebekah had vanished, and I assumed that was a good sign. She was probably gathering info about Elijah's whereabouts. Klaus disappeared for a while as well, but he promised he would keep an eye on me at all times even if I couldn't see him.

I wasn't sure I believed him, but he came back for me and told Aro he would be taking me to bed. They exchanged a knowingly smile that made me sick.

It took me a little longer than usual to fall asleep. I was far away from home, surrounded by monsters who would love to kill me, and there was still no news of Elijah. Plus, I was sharing a bed with a hot hybrid who apparently I couldn't touch without losing my mind or being dragged to the depth of his haunted soul.

When I was just at that cusp between waking and dreaming, I felt Klaus' arm across my waist. I was on my back, so comfortable I could not contemplate moving.

The nightmares I had, I blamed it on his touch.

Elijah was standing near a clearing and he looked exactly like I had seen him in Klaus' memories. He smiled when he saw me approach but he still looked sad. I pointed that out to him.

"You are fated to love another," he told me.

Part of me had no idea what he was talking about. The other part was sure he meant Klaus.

"Fate does not dictate my heart, Elijah." I realized it wasn't me controlling that body though I was inside it. "I can make my own choices. And I choose to give my heart once more to someone strong, protective, fierce, and yet noble and gentle." Her hand – my hand – touched his face and he closed his eyes to enjoy the caress. "I choose you Elijah."

Then he kissed her or me, and I remembered all too well how that felt.

The dreamed changed to that same memory I had seen before of Klaus sitting naked surrounded by bodies. But the dialogue was different this time.

"It seems this affliction can only be passed by some kind of conception," Elijah was telling Klaus.

"And do our siblings share this affliction? Do you share this affliction?"

Elijah's silence was open to interpretation.

"He is not my father, is he?"

Elijah grabbed his brother's arms. "You listen to me. This changes nothing for any of us. We are here for you as we shall be always."

A noise caught his attention. Elijah looked up and saw me watching them through the trees. I wasn't controlling the body – she was – so we ran. I could hear them coming after me. "Tatia," Elijah called. I tripped and fell hard on my face.

"Stay away from me!" I commanded.

Elijah looked so sad I scolded her – this Tatia – in our mind. "I won't hurt you," he promised and I believed him immediately. But she didn't. She backed away from him.

"What have you become?"

"I'm who I've always been," he told us. "I'm the one who loves you."

"Your mother asked me for my blood. She said nothing about the dark magic that would turn you into a monster."

"Look at me," he asked of us. "I'm not a monst-" Something made him stop. His eyes dropped to my hand. I followed and saw the blood – we were bleeding badly. Elijah inhaled sharply. His fangs appeared. His face turned dark. "Tatia..." he whispered. "I won't hurt you. I don't want to."

Even seeing him like that I was sure. __He is not going to hurt us, stupid__ , I told her, but she didn't listen. She gasped right about the time he whispered, "Run."

And we did. But it didn't matter. Within seconds he was on us. He grabbed our hair, tilted our head and bit our neck with such fury I was surprised it didn't just snap. We screamed, we fought against his terrible, terrible strength, but he sucked our blood fast and hard and life left us before Klaus came out of the shadows and jumped his brother.

 _Stupid indeed._


	13. The Descent

I woke up twisting and turning, terrified, still trying to fight him off. I fell out of bed and just when I hit the ground I realized I had been dreaming. Klaus knelt beside me but I shoved him away.

"Don't touch me!"

I couldn't do that anymore. I would never let him touch me again. Whatever had happened between the two of them, whatever history they had, I didn't want to know. I couldn't know. The knowledge would kill me.

The Noble Brother, my ass.

I was breathing so heavily I was sure every vampire in Volterra could hear me. My hands were shaking and I had the strangest pain in my left arm. I thought maybe I was having a heart attack.

Klaus watched me from a distance. I closed my eyes. I couldn't look at him any longer.

"I was angry with my friend," he chanted, his voice filling the room, "I told my wrath; my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe; I told it not, my wrath did grow."

I opened my eyes. "I know what being a vampire means to you. I felt your anger like a white-hot liquid filling my veins."

His blue eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Being a vampire means revenge. Revenge against life itself. Every time you take a life it's revenge. No wonder, you can't appreciate anything. The nuances of vampire existence aren't available to you because you're focused with a maniacal vengeance upon the mortal life you've left."

"What are you talking about?"

"Consumed with hatred, you look down on us. Consumed with envy, nothing pleases you unless you can take it from others, and once having it, you grow cold and dissatisfied, not loving the thing for itself, and so you move after something else."

Klaus stared at me like I was crazy. And maybe I was. "What are you talking about, Nessie?" he repeated. But I didn't know. I wasn't even sure I was talking about him.

"Vengeance, blind and sterile and contemptible."

"Stop!" he ordered. "What is happening to you?"

I felt the warm tears on my face. "I have a gift." It was the first time I acknowledge to anybody, the first time I said it like that. "Like Aro. Like my parents. When I was little I could communicate through touch. My mother said it was the only way I would talk to a person. I liked showing them my feelings. But... As I grew older, it... expanded, it got stronger. Now, whenever I touch someone's bare skin I see whatever it is in their minds. I feel what they are feeling." The words came out of me like a waterfall. The only noise in the room was me talking and sobbing. "I've seen everything, Klaus. The first time you turned into a werewolf. When your-your father tied you to a cross and Elijah helped him even though you begged him not to. When you found out Mikael wasn't really your father. And I saw-I saw Tatia."

Klaus' blue eyes shone with tears of his own. He sat on the bed and stared at his own hands. Then he shook his head and looked at me with pure hatred. "You know nothing, Nessie."

"I understand-"

"You understand nothing!" he shouted getting to his feet. "You really are a hideously evil little thing."

Rebekah burst into the room. "Why are you two shouting?"

Klaus turned his back at me and walked out of the room. Well, like I cared if he was mad at me. I was too busy being mad at Elijah.

 _Darn vampires_.

"I suppose you've heard everything," I said.

Rebekah crossed her arms. "Not everything. We're leaving tonight, Nessie."

"What? But-"

"I've talked to Aro. He already knows why we're here. He doesn't have Elijah."

I struggled to stand up. "How did you-"

"Like I said, we've talked." Rebekah sat on the bed where once Klaus had been. "You're not going to like this, dearie."

As it turned out, I did not like it. Rebekah told me Elijah and Klaus had made up a plan after Aro's little visit. The plan was for Elijah to come to Volterra, without telling me, to spend some time with Aro in order to find out what the evil vampire wanted with me. He would assure the Volturi he was not romantically involved with me and that he knew nothing. If things went according to plan, he would return to New Orleans with enough information to get Aro killed.

But Aro, according to himself, meant me no harm. He wasn't interested in me in any other way than a possible wife for his dear friend, Marcus. He said he let Elijah leave Volterra unharmed. So someone – something else – had captured him on his way back.

"What can capture an Original?"

"A witch," said Rebekah. "A very powerful witch."

She meant someone called Cassie. Whoever that was, Klaus had promised Rebekah her head.

"Why wouldn't he tell me?" I choked. "Klaus...?"

"I don't know why my brother does things. But he's asked me to take you back home, Nessie. I'm afraid your trip ends here."

"No! I'm not going anywhere until I know what the fuck is going on!"

"Manners, please. We can risk-" she proceeded to tell me a whole bunch of bullshit.

I wasn't leaving Italy without Elijah. Yes, my feelings toward him had gotten a little messed up. He no longer was the beautiful, merciful, noble vampire I thought he was when we met. But he wasn't a monster. I didn't really believe him to be one.

Maybe he had hurt Tatia even though he'd loved her. But he must regret it. If he could go back, he would surely change it. I couldn't believe him capable of doing that, not the Elijah he was now, the Elijah I knew.

And he would never do that to me. Whatever had happened was in the past and I was willing to let go of it if only to have him back in my arms.

I wasn't leaving Italy without him, no. But I told Rebekah I would. Klaus came back and he seemed in a better mood. He said they would be busy the entire afternoon and that I wasn't to leave my room. He made me promise I would wait for them.

"I promised," I said. "But I want to know the plan."

Klaus gave me that crooked smile of his. "Well, that depends on what plan you mean, love. My plan for global domination, or Rebekah's plan to find love in a cruel, cruel world."

"Bite me," murmured Rebekah.

"The plan to rescue Elijah," I said patiently.

"The plan," said Rebekah, "as you have demanded, is for us to leave Italy whilst Niklaus will ask Cassie for Elijah to be returned to him."

Oh, boy.

"I so dearly hope that's not the entire plan."

Klaus chuckled. "That's only plan A, love. There's always plan B."

I thought I was being more patient than they deserved. "And what's plan B?"

"War," he said without a shred of amusement. Well, that was much better.

I liked that plan.


	14. The Death Of Me

Marcus once told me of a beautiful young witch who was kept in the highest room of the tallest tower, forced forever to do what the Volturi demanded of her. I was counting he meant that literally.

With my vampire speed, I broke the necks of the two vampires who were on guard duty. I opened the door and found her cowering in a corner. She was a dirty mess. But even so, I could see how pretty she was. Blue eyes, full lips, rosy cheeks, lightly tanned skin and long, dark brown hair. She was a petite little thing.

When she saw me, her eyes widened. "I know who you are," she said.

"Good," I replied. "Then you know why I'm here."

She hugged her knees. "You want me to find your boyfriend."

"Can you do that?"

"I can. But why should I?"

"If you do that, you're free. I'll let you go," I offered.

Her name was Davina, she told me, and she was all too happy to do what I asked of her. I sat on her hard bed and watched as she performed the spell. I noticed the walls were all painted and thought. Klaus would like this girl. Maybe that's why the Volturi wanted her anyways.

It didn't take long. She told me precisely where Elijah was being kept by the wicked witch of Italy and even offered to come with me. I refused. I was sure I could do this on my own.

The afternoon was warm as I sneaked out of the Volturi castle. Again, it was easier than I thought it would be. The universe seemed to be working on my favor. Whatever Rebekah and Niklaus were doing was keeping most of the vampires busy and out of my way. All the better.

But I was vibrating with tension, because at any moment this luck might run out.

The cemetery was at the eastern part of Volterra. I moved silently down a pathway created with uneven headstones. With my enhanced vision, I was able to find the mausoleum without problem.

My heart was pounding now. The sky was a shade darker and I felt raindrops on my face. I put my ear to the door, listened with all my ability. She was in there. But she was too distracted and would not notice me until it was too late. I let my fangs come out.

I had to move fast. Ever second would count. I kicked the door down and bit her neck savagely until she passed out. I let her fall on the ground.

Ding dong, the witch won't be bothering us for some time.

With an overwhelming sense of relief, I looked around. The floor was wooden, and covered with stains. The smell of blood was everywhere. Elijah was in the center of the room, his hands in chains that fell from the ceiling.

After the confused emotions and unfamiliar feelings of the past few days, I felt like the world suddenly came into focus. Everything was clear. Here was Elijah. I would save him. I would do anything to save him. I loved him. Oh, how I did.

Davina said Cassie had made him bleed in order to purge him from the sins of his monstrous existence. Just thinking of that, made me want to finish the job I did on her. She had tormented him in other ways, I could see that. He had been hurt and something was stopping him from healing. He had been starved, and he had been denied sleep.

Elijah was slumped over and I knew he was taking what respite he could while his tormentor was gone. He was all covered in blood.

I felt urgency, impelling me to him. I was trembly with the need to hurry. I had encountered enormous luck. I couldn't count on its holding.

As Davina instructed, I broke the voodoo doll hanging from the ceiling. Then I snapped the chains. He fell on my arms and, gods, was he heavy. "You have to stand up," I told him. "I can't carry you. Elijah?"

That moment, he smelled me and realized it was me. His head snapped up and his eyes blazed at me. He flinched, but managed to stand – with my help, of course. I got his left arm draped around my neck, and I heaved.

Elijah moaned. I began talking to him under my breath, cursing him and challenging him to move. He was going to heal, right? In a little while he'd be just fine.

I dragged him out of the cemetery and into the cover of the woods. At that point, he collapsed backward and took me with him to the ground. He made a deep pain noise that tore at my heart, and then he was absolutely silent and limp. It was terrifying seeing him like that.

There was only one thing I could do.

I brought my wrist to my mouth and bit it. I wasn't afraid. I wasn't Tatia and he wasn't that Elijah anymore. He loved me just as I loved him. He knew it was me. He wouldn't hurt me. I placed my wrist in his mouth and he sucked it. When my heart started to race again, I made him let go.

That's when his eyes opened and I knew I had been wrong all along. His body twisted into a bestial crouch, with a snarl of animal fury on his face. I couldn't help seeing it. Even if I could shut my eyes, every detail of the scene was etched upon my memory as if flash of lightning had seared it onto my brain forever.

My blood ran from his mouth. It showed ghastly red against the pallor of his skin, against the sharp whiteness of his bared teeth.

The screams were trying to rip their way out of my throat. I backed farther away, stumbling, as that terrible thing, the thing with Elijah's face, struck. He moved with preternatural quickness; he was on top of me before I even knew what was happening. That long, slender-fingered hand that had stroked my hair so gently, now grabbed it so he could tilt my head sideways.

In his hunger, he made no attempt to spare me anything, and it hurt like the six shades of hell. And then I did scream.

My mind could not cope with this horror; my thoughts were running wildly in panic. He sucked hard and I felt myself turn cold, so cold and weak that eventually I stopped fighting him. His arms clamped me to him, his leg was slung over my legs.

As he was touching me, I could feel what he was feeling. I could feel his anger. I could feel his cruelty. I could feel his hunger. He had never been more completely vampire. There wasn't anything human in him.

But what hurt even worse was to think that he didn't care enough about me to just stop. How could this hunger be stronger than our love? I found myself thinking of Tatia again. Had she felt this way right before she died upon the hands she loved so well?

 _He promised he would never hurt us, didn't he? And we believed him,_ Tatia spoke in my mind. _ _I had gazed upon this face, the face of this man, the face of this monster. A face that no longer had barriers against me, no walls. This was what he was. This was all there was.__

And maybe she was right. Death was all there was. But I was not to blame, I reminded myself. I had done everything because I loved him. And because I loved him I was dying.

 _ _He promised he would never hurt us__ _._

But then again, if my life was all I had to give him, how could I deny him that when I loved him so?

 _ _And we believed him__ _._

We believed him, didn't we?

 _Our mistake_.


	15. Alive & Kicking

**Hey, guys! I'm back! Hope you enjoy this for I sure did!**

...

If I stopped looking for him, it was over.

I couldn't see anything. My whole body went numb and I couldn't feel anything below my neck. There was a light unnatural breeze. I was dizzy. But one simple thought was clear in my head – I had to keep going.

With shaky legs, ignoring the fact that my action was useless, I stumbled forward. Time made no sense and my vision kept going blurry. I had the feeling something was missing. Pain. Horrible pain that should be there. Horrible pain I had grown used to. Horrible pain that consumed me, that took everything from me and left me to die in the woods of a strange place where nothing matter.

 _What about Elijah?_ That little voice in my head asked softly. Elijah mattered, if nothing else did.

"Nessie," I heard him saying - and though in the state I was I knew little - that was a voice I would know anywhere, even distorted, as it was now, with worry. But his recognition had been too late.

I felt a cold hand in my forehead, but everything felt unreal like a dream. What was happening to me?

I was so sure I was dead. I died. I remembered dying. It felt strangely like love. But I wasn't going to be fooled by it. It was death. And it took me.

I remembered the hurt. I remembered tasting the panic in the back of my throat.

The sound of his voice unleashed the thing that was clawing inside of me – a pain that knocked me breathless, astonished me with its force. His name sent a wave of torture through me. I shook my head, frantic, desperate to escape the pain.

And then I woke up.

"Nessie," my mother said carefully. She was sitting in a chair watching me sleep. She had watched me sleep every night since that day. Her eyes were heavy with worry, something I was getting quite used to.

I remembered how the Cullens had appeared in Volterra as soon as Alice saw... Well, it was not healthy for me to go into that, Carlisle had said. He advised me to stay the hell away from the subject if possible. I was doing my best. During the entire day, I was able to keep myself busy, distracted. But at night, in my sleep, the nightmares took control.

I had no seen him in months. He had tried to apologized though both of us knew there weren't enough words in the English language for him to achieve that. Besides, my family had once more intervened and for the first time I was actually glad for it.

The Cullens insisted that Elijah stayed away from me, something that I, in the state that I found myself, hadn't had the strength or the will to frown upon. I didn't want to see him, truth be told, I couldn't look at him without that day coming back to me, without my legs shaking.

Don't get me wrong, even after everything that had happened I didn't think Elijah was evil. Nor did I blame him for anything he had done. That was his nature and I understood that. But I also understood something else.

Love was not stronger than nature - and that hurt to my core.

I was disappointed by our attachment and after several nights of crying in my mother's arm she said something that got through me - _you deserve better._

My brain would argue there was no one better than Elijah. And though my whole existence knew that to be true, I understood that was not what my mother had meant. She didn't mean Elijah wasn't good or that he wasn't good enough for me. She only meant I deserved to be with someone I was utterly safe with, someone who wouldn't wake up one morning feeling hungry and accidentally murder me.

And I thought that was a very valid point.

So after days and days of nothing but misery and pain I decided to maybe give myself the chance to get over him - though everything in the universe seemed against that simple idea. The world was a sad collection of miscellaneous and memories of him. I was one hundred percent stuck.

Forbidden to remember, terrified to forget.

And yet, I found I could survive. I was alert, I felt the pain - the aching loss that radiated out from my chest, sending wracking waves of hurt through my limbs and head - but it was manageable. I could live through it. It didn't feel like the pain had weakened over time, rather that I'd grown strong enough to bear it.

I was proud. I was ready to try. I was ready for new beginnings. So I decided to go out for the first time in months. I knew there wasn't the slightest chance of running into him because Rebekah had come to say goodbye and told me she would be leaving New Orleans and taking her brother with her. That was one less thing to worry about.

Looking back in my life, I often feel like everything that happens to me wasn't my choice. Like it was all premeditated, like fate always steps in to screw with me. So it didn't surprise me when the stranger in the bar leaned over and said, "You look terribly alone," his breath teasingly into my ear, sending tingles through my body. I considered him just another thing that had to happen to me. Something I needed even.

He was younger than I expected but still undeniably handsome. But what really caught my attention was the cheerful smile he gave me, as if he was the happiest man alive, as if nothing could ruin the glee he felt just for being alive. That got to me. I was sadly used to sullen, sulky vampires.

"Not anymore," I answered with a smile of my own. His pale eyes searched my face with interest and somehow I felt comfortable with that.

We sat together and he ordered us drinks. I asked about what he did and he said he wasn't doing anything at the moment. I could see he was amused by my question, though that playful smirk of his seemed to be a permanent thing.

I asked about his family and he said they were all crazy as loons. I felt like I could relate to that. He said his mother was a self-opinionated control freak that didn't allow her children to live their lives. I knew it wasn't fair to my family, but I sort of related to that as well.

After several hours of interesting, funny, long conversations my opinion was formed. The new man in my life was charming, cocky, easy-going and more importantly: human. That was a good change. How I longed for some normality.

As we were about to leave the bar, I realized I hadn't asked him name. Before I was even done speaking, his hand begun caressing half my face, his long fingers tracing down my features before tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

I was so stunned I didn't even pay attention to the images that went through me. I looked into those dark alluring eyes and I instantly knew what I wanted, what I needed to do. The next step seemed very clear to me.

"Call me Kaleb," he said softly right before he kissed me.


	16. Nothing But The Blood

The thing about Kaleb was... he might not had understood fully what I was, but he sure had a pretty good idea. And if he couldn't understand when we met, he sure did when I bit him.

Yes, I know. That was a new low for me. But don't judge me just yet.

I hadn't hit rock bottom though. I was still falling down the rabbit hole. And every mistake I made was probably a weak attempt to keep myself from falling, a cry for help that no one seemed to listen. Until someone did.

There were more after Kaleb. In the next month, there were many, many more. I had read somewhere that everything in excess could be bad for you, could turn into a vice, in a circle you couldn't get out of. It was true. The more I did that, the harder it got to stop.

But then I realized sex and blood wasn't the answer I was looking for. Well, it was awesome and granted me moments of pleasure my life was lacking. But the fact was: I was still relying on someone else to make me feel good. And that was not who I wanted to be.

That was around the time I started to feel ashamed of what I was doing. I couldn't look at myself in mirror anymore without trembling. I didn't know what I was looking for and that was causing me to lose track of myself.

Slippery slope, right?

Goddamn it. I had it all figured out not long ago. I knew who I was and what I needed. I knew what I wanted. What did I know now?

One thing was for sure – I had to stop. Stop falling into this well and find my way back up. And then I would figure out what to do with whatever was left of me.

But I only came to this realization when it was too late.

The boy was could be fifteen for all I knew. Shy, pale, smart. A geek. He was kind to me. Of course he had no idea when he took me to bed that it would come to this. I had no idea...

He looked so fragile. His eyes circled in dark lashes. His lips very still, but as I stared at him he smiled. I watched him all the harder, convinced I was going to harm him; and the more I watched, the more he seemed to smile.

I had the urge to reach for him, to shake him violently so that maybe he would recognize the danger and run; and suddenly I found him pressed against me, his arm around my chest, his soft breath against my skin. It was delirium.

I moved to get away from him, and yet I was drawn to him and I didn't move at all, his arm exerting its firm pressure. All my flesh yearned for his warmth.

I found myself with my hand outstretched, touching his face. I saw that mortal boy watching me, and I smelled the hot aroma of his flesh. His eyes fearless and exciting as he held me.

And before I could push him away for his own sake, I saw the vein moving in his tender neck. He was offering it to me, I told myself. He was pressing the length of his body against me now, and I felt the hard strength of his sex pressing against my leg. A wretched gasp escaped my lips and I sank my teeth into his skin, my body rigid. Wave after wave of his beating heart passed into me as, weightless, I rocked with him, devouring him, his ecstasy, his conscious pleasure.

I didn't hear him scream or complain or make any sound at all. I was too into the drug. I didn't take any precautions to not hurt him and I didn't care if he could take it or not. I don't know for how long I sucked at him. Time had a way of losing meaning.

Then, weak and gasping, I saw him at a distance from me, my arms empty, my mouth still flooded with the taste of his blood.

It took me a moment to realize we weren't alone anymore. Klaus was standing between us, his eyes cold, his lips pressed together. Klaus! Of all the vampires I knew. I could have laughed if I wasn't naked with virgin blood spilling out of my mouth.

The boy gazed at me, his eyes misted over and weak from the loss of life. I remember moving mutely forward, drawn to him and seemingly unable to control it, that gaze taunting me, that conscious life defying me; he should die and would not die; he would live on, comprehending, surviving that intimacy!

Klaus pushed me back on the bed. I fell, still confused, still not fulling understanding what was happening. What in the world was he doing there? How had he found me? Why did he care?

I turned. Klaus knelt in front of the naked boy and stared him deep in the eyes. He told him something I couldn't hear but the way the boy nodded left me with a pretty good idea of what it was. The boy got up, put his clothes back on and left without another look in my direction.

Slowly the hunger in me subsided, but my head throbbed. Someone touched me suddenly, pushed me roughly, so that I almost lost my balance, and when I straitened I saw the thin, angular face of the trickster vampire I despised. He reached out for me with his white hands.

"Come with me," he said.

There was something disturbing to me in the room, and I didn't know what it was. I didn't in truth know what was wrong with me, only that I'd been drawn forcefully either by myself or someone else from a fierce, consuming state: the kill to which I'd abandoned myself, obscenely, in the eyes of others.

"Why?" I think I said, but my voice sounded differently. Teasing. Amused. Nothing like what I was truly feeling. "Come lie here with me," I offered letting myself fall back on the bed.

Klaus looked so distance I doubted he was even seeing me there, naked. He slowly took off his jacket and handed it to me. I wasn't exactly in my right mind so I can't guarantee that what I heard escape his lips was something he really said, but it sounded strangely like 'don't tempt me.'


	17. Beautifully Broken

Klaus didn't scold me like I expected him to. He took me to his house and I think he said something to my parents because no one came looking for me. He got me food – real substancial food, I mean here – and he bought me clothes. He was being rather sweet if you don't consider the fact he didn't say a word to me.

I tried to make him talk, but my brain was still buzzing. Although it was clear enough he was not in the mood for conversation. So I shut my mouth and did everything as quietly as I could. Then I went to bed and I didn't wake up until he called me. Again he gave me food and told me to 'wash myself' like I was some kind of pup he had found on the side of the road.

"Stop telling me what to do."

He raised an eyebrow. "Fine. I didn't think you enjoyed being covered in blood, love, that's all."

I rolled my eyes at the accusation as if I didn't care at all what he thought of me. But in a moment I was up heading to the bathroom. He followed me and showed me where the towels were. When he turned around I was already naked and ready to get my back scrubbed.

He blinked a few times and I had to content my excitement. Apparently, men were all the same. Dead or alive.

"Now, what are you doing?"

I shrugged. "I thought you were planning to wash me."

"I wasn't."

"Are you considering it?"

He looked me up and down and suddenly I felt really bad. And I mean 'about to cry bad'. What the hell was I doing? I turned my back at him and waited for him to leave hoping he hadn't see me blushing.

He must've sensed it though because he left without another word.

After a good warm bath, my head was clearer and I decided to thank Klaus and also apologize for my crazy behavior. I found him in a circular room with wide open windows. He stood right in the middle painting a beautiful autumn landscape. Everything looked so normal for a moment I forgot the supernatural world we lived in. Vampires didn't exist. There was only this handsome man, the sun light in his face, his blue eyes gleaming as his hands moved swiftly through the canvas.

"Do you have something to say or are you just going to stand there?" See, the most unnerving thing about Klaus was not his physical perfection. It was his feral combination of strength, agility, and keen intelligence that was palpable across the room. He looked like a lion that could strike at any moment but was in no rush to do so.

"I thought you were in favor of hospitality today."

He grinned. "I've been known to change my mind on a whim."

"How did you find me?" I blurted out.

Klaus took his time to answer. He put down his brush and turned to me. "Elijah asked me to keep an eye on you."

Oh. My mouth was suddenly very dry.

"Aren't you going to ask?"

"Ask about what?"

"About him," he said curly.

"No."

I felt the tension in my shoulders and the familiar twitch in my left eye.

"Is your heart too broken to speak of him?" he asked not unkindly.

I avoided the question. "Why did he... he ask you to..."

"I'm the only one who can protect you," he said and the statement seemed to make him happy.

"That's not true." I had a family of vampires. I had friends who were wolves.

His eyes turned kind. "Oh, love. You really have no idea what's going on, do you?" He shook his head. "Regardless, I would like for you to remain with me for the time being."

"Am I your prisoner, now?"

"Would you like to be?" he teased. "No. You're free to go or stay."

I crossed my arms, that feeling returning to me. You know, the 'I want sex and blood' feeling. Maybe staying wasn't such a bad idea. Maybe the Vampire King was supposed to protect me but others. Keep me away from fifteen year old virgins.

"I can be persuaded to stay," I told him. Damn it. Was I flirting again? Well, should that make me feel bad? I couldn't really help myself when I had that beautiful vampire staring at me like that. It was overwhelming.

He inhaled very deeply. I could see in his face that he was inhaling... well, _me_. That was enough to make me shiver. Before I could do something I was most likely going to regret, I turned my back and walked away from the room.

However, he caught up with me. He grabbed me so suddenly I gasped, my heart racing. Then his mouth was on mine and he pressed me against the corridor wall and the next minute was a blur of desire and moaning.

A mild shock made me back away quickly, but not quickly enough. The tingling traveled up my arms, lifting my skin into tiny goose pimples, then spread across my shoulders, tensing the muscles in my back and neck. These sensations quickly receded, but they left behind a hollow feeling of unmet desire. Shaken by my response, I stepped away from him. Then he stepped back and glared at me with the weirdest expression. "Very broken, it would seem," he muttered.

I felt myself straightening up. "Is this a test?" I asked dumbly.

"No," he said dismissively. "I just wanted to do that again."

"Why? To make me feel guilty?" I was starting to get angry. I was embarrassed, horrified, and absolutely ready to jump him. "Or... Or because you want to get back at him? For Tatia? She chose him, too, didn't she?"

Klaus stared at me and there was no kindness left in him. He kept quiet, but there was no need for him to speak. He had kissed me because he wanted to. And that was enough for me.

"It's because you're hurt, isn't it? That part of you that is still human."

That made him step back.

"Don't deny it. I've seen it. It made me forgive everything you've done. I know that you're in love with me," I accused feeling very sure. "And anyone capable of love can be saved."

"You think I'm the one who needs to be saved?" he snarled. "I do not believe in love."

"Then what do you live for?"

"I don't live. We are death," he told me.

I shook my head, baffled, outsmarted, helpless. I felt the anger in my veins, as sure as the passion. But he made me speechless, made my overwhelming instinct seem petty, confused. I could feel myself dying inside, weakening, and I blamed and hated him for that.

"Death waits for you everywhere," he sighed now as if he were suddenly frustrated. "We do not feel and do not care, love."

"But you did once." And then it was my turn to kiss him. There were no words to express how much he wanted me. I could only match him feelings with mine. All I had at that moment was a hot vampire who needed reassurance just as much as I did.

"What did you do that?" he demanded.

"I just wanted to do that again," I said.

While I stood paralyzed by conflicting waves of emotion, he shook his head and grabbed my shoulders. "If you want this, you have to be honest. Say it, Nessie," he urged me.

But how could I?

"You want this for the same reason I do," he said. "To punish him. Say it. You want to punish him."

I looked into his blue eyes and I knew, for the first time in months, exactly what I wanted.

"I want to punish him," I repeated obediently.

Klaus smiled. A beautiful, genuine smile. "If it were up to me, Elijah would've never hurt you. Neither of you. I wouldn't have let him."

"Then help me, Klaus," I begged. "Help me heal."

And boy, help he did.

Once we found a bed, his fingers and mouth were busy learning my topography. I was so on fire for him I was surprised that flames didn't flicker out of my fingertips.

I may have made lots of noise (I was sure of it) but I was floating on the most powerful wave of pleasure I'd ever felt.


End file.
